Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said he reassigned Paris Hilton to home monitoring because of overcrowded conditions and "her severe medical problems."
"There's 20,000 inmates -- the largest jail system in the United States," Baca said in a statement. "It's very overcrowded."
A Los Angeles judge ordered Hilton be returned to Century Regional Detention Facility, an all-women's jail in Lynwood, Calif., to finish serving her sentence for violating probation. The sheriff's department Thursday reassigned Hilton to home monitoring, citing "severe medical problems."
Ninety percent of the inmates are serious felons, Baca said, while Hilton was one of the "low level" offenders, TMZ.com reported Friday.
Baca said Hilton was on medication when she originally entered the jail system Sunday. He also confirmed a TMZ.com report that the medical condition was psychological, not physical.
"She had a severe problem," the celebrity Web site quoted Baca. "I need more cooperation from the courts and form the city attorney's office."
He said he would comply with the court order, but if a change for the worse were observed, "hopefully we'll be able to address it."