Contra Costa County Jail

Good Behavior

Interview with Tom


JM: Did you get off early based on good behavior?
Tom: I was doing 4 years in Contra Costa and 3 years in Sutter. I did a total of 24 months and 16 days. I basically got 2 years off my sentence for good behavior. If i was doing just county jail time I would have only been allowed to get one third time off my sentence instead of half time in the state prison system. However state time overides county time so I was getting half time credits in the county jail.

JM: What is the most time off you can receive for good behavior?
Tom: State prison allows you to get up to 2 days credit for 1 day served depending on your number of points and camp eligibility. If you are allowed to serve time in fire camp you can do as little as 4 months on each year. Regular inmates as little as 6 months on a year. You can do up to 85% of each year depending on your crime or custody status. County jail is basically 8 months on a years sentence if you are trouble free and maybe 15 more days off that if you participate in the education program.

JM: What types of actions do you need to avoid in order to get time off?
Tom: There are 100s of rules in jail and if you break any you are subject to losing good time credits. The main things to avoid are fights drugs and inmate manufactured alcohol "pruno". If you do as the cops ask of you and refrain from involving yourself in gangs and drugs it is really easy to get out early. When you first arrive they give you a book of the rules which are mostly common sense, if you follow them you will have no problems.