The consequences of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s release of dangerous inmates are an ongoing problem we’ve chronicled for some time now. It’s only common sense to expect trouble from the early and unsupervised release of improperly screened felons.

And with last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision ordering California to release more than 30,000 inmates, voters are rightfully worried. A recent Field Poll showed that 79 percent of these voters believe the high court's order to release that many criminals from the state prison system over the next two years presents a serious problem.

L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca expressed concerns over the ruling’s impact on our communities, since nearly a third of the state’s prison population comes from this county. Compliance with the order means L.A. County could see more than 11,000 felons on its streets – more than any other county.

“Make no mistake about it, the sheriffs and local police are going to be very, very busy trying to figure out a way to manage this population," said Baca recently. State leaders, still wrangling over the budget, shouldn’t drop inmate housing and parolee monitoring responsibilities on local governments without giving them adequate funding.

We repeat our call for the early involvement of local law enforcement and prosecutors statewide in the drafting of inmate-release criteria. There’s no doubt the LAPD, local prosecutors and every law enforcement agency across the state will soon be dealing with these inmates.

Given CDCR’s messy handling of various ill conceived early release programs over the last few years, law enforcement agencies would rather have input in release decisions instead of simply responding to the ensuing crimes.

Devising better release criteria is the least we can do for Californians.