Wake Up California: It’s Time to Get Real About Criminal Justice Reform
(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)
The "Prison Population and Budget Reduction Package" proposed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is like a drunk person walking home from a bar — it knows where it wants to go but oftentimes you find it stumbling off the sidewalk or turning down the wrong street.Since we believe budget cutting is no small feat and should be taken very seriously, especially in the wake of the prison riots in Chino and public safety needs, we've decided to pour the CDCR a strong cup of coffee and see if we can't point the plan in a better direction.
The People's Budget Fix, as we've named it, responds to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $1.2 billion in unallocated cuts to the corrections budget with a series of smart reforms to save the state billions of dollars, improve public safety, and advance long-needed adjustments in California's Corrections system. Here's an outline of some of the ways the CDCR's budget proposal goes wrong and how we can do better.
Step 1: Reserve Prison for Serious Offenses
- Convert MORE Petty Offenses to Misdemeanors: The CDCR identified only four out of 73 low-level, nonviolent "wobblers" (offenses that can be treated as felonies or misdemeanors) to convert to misdemeanor offenses.That's a good start but is not enough to save the $700 million annually that the Legislative Analyst's Office predicts will come from converting more petty offenses.Nonviolent property crimes such as forgery, embezzlement, and vandalism should not result in expensive prison sentences
- Keep Response to Petty Drug Offenses Local: California prisons are packed with low-level drug offenders, causing a significant drain on the state's criminal justice system. People convicted of simple drug possession should be handled at the county level through community service, treatment, probation or some combination, saving $1 billion annually.
- Respond to Youth Offenders Closer to Home: The Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has an astronomical recidivism rate of 72 percent and an annual budget of $436 million.We need to close these wasteful and ineffective youth prisons. Youth currently housed in DJJ prisons should be diverted to county custody and half the DJJ budget should be used to support effective local treatment programs, still allowing a net savings of more than $200 million annually.
Step 2: Focus Resources on Recidivism-Reduction
- Maintain Effective Programs: The CDCR plans to eliminate $175 million in existing programs that aim to alleviate the state's recidivism problem. Sending people from prison to the streets without any preparation or support is a recipe for failure. Programs such as substance abuse counseling, vocational training, and education are vital to the inmates' ability to prepare for life on the outside — these programs should be protected, not cut.
- Limit GPS Monitoring to High-Risk Offenders: The CDCR has proposed placing low-risk inmates, such as the medically infirm and elderly, in the community, but require that they wear GPS monitoring devices.While we support moving these inmates out of costly prison cells, GPS monitoring is unnecessary for these low-risk inmates and a waste of state money. Research has shown that GPS monitoring is costly and should be reserved for higher-risk offenders.
- Enhance Plans for Risk-Based Parole Supervision: The CDCR is on the right track in saying that parole should be for violent and sex offenders and those considered high-risk. It makes sense to place moderate risk/nonviolent offenders on administrative parole.We need to go further, ending the administrative parole after one clean year. Just eliminating parole for drug possession would reduce the population by 25 percent and save $135 million annually.
Step 3: Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform
The People's Budget Fix is indeed a sobering cup of coffee, opening our eyes to what smart and sensible criminal justice reforms can do to help save our state more money, improve public safety, and begin reforming our ailing prison system. But we can't stop there.
The People's Budget Fix also calls upon the governor and the California legislature to go beyond the immediate fixes identified above and strive for lasting budget reforms. We must delve deeper into the sobering realities of our criminal justices system and its failures. We need a balanced sentencing commission to take the politics out of the public safety debate and put the people back in. And we need to address two costly and ineffective areas of our criminal justice system: the death penalty and California's Three Strikes law. Both of these policies cost that state billions of dollars in prison spending and court costs with no demonstrable returns for public safety. It is time for California to limit Three Strikes to violent offenses and replace the death penalty with effective alternatives that promote public safety.
On August 18, when the governor and the legislature return to Sacramento to begin discussions of the Corrections' budget, we plan to be there to rally for the People's Budget Fix and to meet with Legislatures to discuss our proposals.We hope our proposals help our political leaders see straight and get us all home safely.
The People's Budget Fix is supported by Drug Policy Alliance, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Families Amend California's Three Strikes, and the ACLU California affiliates.
Aug 18th, 2009 at 6:51am
nice
Aug 18th, 2009 at 11:18am
I would like to see some attention directed to the individuals who aer serving "life sentences" with the possibility of parole. Emphasis is placed on those who are most likely to return to prison and how that can be solved. In my opinion the population most prepared for release are "lifers' who have been mandated to recieved vocational training, life skills, self help and many have advanced their educations to hold various degrees, actively participated in the rehabilitative process and have the hope of release always before then. Some of these individuals have gone before the Board that reviews their suitability for parole and are actually found suitable (a feat not very easy to accomplish) only to have the Boards decision reversed by a Gov. who has declared a "state of emergency". Something is deathly wrong. This is a population of people that are most equipped to succeed once released and studies show they recidivate less than 1% of the time. Rehabilitative efforts should be mandatory for all in prison and for those who have done the steps should be released. If there is no possibility for parole, the state should stop lying to those who are sentenced that way. Lifers should be considered for release and included in this huge plan for reform.
Aug 18th, 2009 at 1:00pm
OH MY Father GOD, in heaven, grant me the strenght to fight these idiots from the ACLU and stand up for you and what I and 80 percent of americans know is right and believe in. Grant me the power and skill so that if approached by any of these idiots I may be a good marksman and hit my target, for we all know that anyone associated with the ACLU should be shot and their bodies hung from trees to rot.
Aug 18th, 2009 at 4:01pm
The whole corrections system in this nation needs reforms top to bottom, bottom to top. With accountability to the state, county, government and the common people. Even the very prisoners themselves should have the freedom and safety to complain of and report injustices they see from within without fear of what could be done to them in vindication from those that are put in control of them the CDC and the Wardens also.
3 strikes law needs to be struck out itself. And all striker's re-sentenced according to what is fair and just and constitutional, not prejudiced. In America,with Liberty and Justice for all! Civil rights even if you are in a jail or prison. Inmates are still human and deserve to be treated humanely.Ultimate accountability is to God and we all have a part in it even if it is in voting and supporting individuals and groups for our civil rights.
Aug 18th, 2009 at 7:36pm
I pity Ron S. He would change his tune if his relative was doing 25-Life for something that they should do no more than a year for? He probably is one of those too stupid understand "The health Reform" fight that is out of control (just like 3 Strikes). He is the one that should be strung up on a tree for being so unaware, taking up space and breathing good air that someone else could be using. So There11111111
Aug 19th, 2009 at 2:47pm
Ron didn't Jesus teach'do unto others as you would have others done on to you.
Aug 19th, 2009 at 10:12pm
These people are in jail for a reason. How do you know what they were convicted of. Just because you have 1 or 2 that maybe should not be in jail because they were innocent (but tried by a jury of their peers), if you asked all inmates you would probably get the same I'm innocent answer.
Jail is not suppose to be a picnic nor should it be a torture den. Ask a victims family if 25 to life is fair.
What about the civil rights of all the other citizens in this country? Why don't we release them all, then the state gets to save all of its money.
Aug 25th, 2009 at 4:04pm
Here's my message,so listen well.Did sixteen months for a for a criminal threat,first termer released 1/28/08,attended all classes mandated by the parole board,was told by one of my four parole agents that i would be off parole in thirteen mos because i had no new violations,and had completed all that was asked of me.Five days before my discharge my home was searched by parole & county gangsters,i was rearrested for having a NINTENDO DUCK HUNTER GAME GUN,WHICH HAD THE 3FT BLACK CORD REMOVED AFTER IT WAS TAKEN FROM MY HOME! VIOLATED!!!!! 21 days later and a c.o.p for another year.So Ron,be careful what you write,some call it a threat! VIOLATOR.
Aug 25th, 2009 at 5:33pm
Wake-up!Cali,we all know that parole runs are justice system,so you release 27,000 inmates,within six months time are three strikes law will not only replace the ones you let go,and then justify their actions by saying our community is at risk.look most C.O's who work for cdcr only have high school diplomas but make over 100k a year,HELLO!,wonder where your rehabilitions dollars are going.Far be it from me to say TOYS!!!!.See ya on the new car lot.V
Aug 27th, 2009 at 4:21pm
People are people. No matter what position you are in: victim or prisoner, liberal or conservative, believe in God or not.
I am a victim.
I have two loved ones incarcerated.
I lean to the left but will listen to what the right has to say.
I believe that any one who wishes death on anyone should not claim to believe in God.
Prison should be a rehabilitative institution.
Victimless crimes should not end in incarceration.
Money should be spent wisely.
Sep 9th, 2009 at 3:33am
It is so easy to pass judgment and, with a broad brush, declare that everyone in prison deserves it. Consider for a moment a man I know whose mother was a prostitute. She gave him drugs beginning early in his childhood and he got caught up in the criminal justice system as a juvenile. Now in his mid 30’s he has spent more of his adult life in prison than outside of prison because each time he is released California law says he MUST be placed on probation. While on probation he is placed under the scrutiny of an officer who holds him to expectations he cannot meet simply because he is addicted to a chemical. He is repeatedly thrown back into a prison system that simply cannot stop abusing this man, at a cost to taxpayers of $55,000-$65,000 per year. I went to his parole hearing intent on sharing a plan to rehabilitate him – a plan I was not even allowed to present because the parole board officer apparently was only interested in beating rush hour traffic. So the cycle perpetuates and instead of moving him from an expensive cage to a job where he would contribute to the tax base and have access to rehabilitative services, his life choices are made for him by guards, wardens, and other governmental bureaucrats who, of course, believe they know better than trained mental health experts.
In my field we have a “bible” called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) which enumerates all the mental disorders known to us. Clearly listed one finds “Substance Abuse” and “Substance Dependence” as defined mental disorders. As such, society thinks TREATMENT as the first and most reasonable option for depression, schizophrenia, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. However, for people like the man I know who is caught up in a pattern of addiction with non prescription drugs many people think PRISON is the reasonable option. And this man, who in many ways is emotionally still a child and has NEVER hurt another person, is treated as if he were a sociopathic criminal. He and people like him are denied the help they need, placed into cages, and we are led to believe this is “justice”. Is this the best America can offer? Do we not have an 8th Amendment to our Constitution intended to protect citizens from cruel and unusual punishment? Is it not written in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold this truth to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among this are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness?”
I despise that cases like this begin with the caption: JOHN DOE vs. THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA because this makes every person in California a perpetrator. The State of California recently passed the buck of our States’ financial crisis onto its counties and cities. Ronald Reagan’s solution to budget problems was to close down many of the State’s mental institutions. Apparently the geniuses who we elect are really good at pawning problems off whenever they can. I hope the ACLU takes up the charge to help people like the man I know who has lost all hope of attaining happiness. All he has to look forward to is the next time he gets out of prison long enough to see a sunset or experience the embrace of a female companion which will last until he seeks his next fix, gets busted, and returns to the place he knows to be his home, a cage most of us wouldn’t put an animal in. How sad America fights for peace all over the world yet denies any semblance of peace for many of our own citizens.
Sep 25th, 2009 at 8:14pm
Education prior to release combined with followup programs does work. Read the study Education Reduces Crime by Stephen J. Steurer Ph.d
Sep 29th, 2009 at 1:46am
Here it is,they ask us if we our remorseful,my question is,is the parole board remorseful for their inability to correct this failure of a system,and just stop lying to the citizens of this once great state.Face it folks! You come to cali for vacation and leave on probation,can any you say,No more lies,and start holding cdcr accountable for this mess were in. People be careful out there it's gonna get worse.V
Sep 29th, 2009 at 2:22am
I am a graduate industrial design student at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco preparing an MFA thesis proposal.
I was contemplating on investigating design solutions for prison cells and environments, that would alleviate the safety problems concerning both inmates and guards.
I was wondering if anyone could tell me whether there was a need for such a project, if so what the main priorities should be, and who could I contact to get information?
Thank you for any help anyone can give me!
Oct 1st, 2009 at 6:40am
It's time to just say NO to all the damn moralists who believe drug users should be punished. Because of this misguided desire to control behavior that in and of itself is not especially harmful, we've turned this country into a police state, with the largest prison population in the world. We've given up many civil rights, destroyed countless lives, actually created more property crime & violent crime, and squander more than $50 billion each year fighting this perpetual War on Drugs. We have turned a relatively harmless human behavior -- which can manifest anywhere in the spectrum from predominantly occasional (recreational) use to habituation or addiction in a minority of users -- into an unacceptable evil, and thereby created a whole class of subhumans who deserve our scorn, abuse, persecution, torture & even death. We fuel the hatred with all the tools of propaganda, i.e, through news, infotainment, movies, etc. We even exported this insidiously vile behavior to the rest of the world. And most of us are so foolish that we don't even understand that the biggest drug problems are created by the laws themselves.
No more beating around the bush: eliminate the whole corrupt system of drug laws, for all drugs. Then, of course, if someone commits a real crime against property or person, he should be punished, whether or not drugs are involved. But no more punishing just for using drugs! Ok, you'll always have some addicts ... but, this is a medical problem, not a criminal justice problem. If you are really serious about reducing the cost of the overgrown prison system, this is the answer. If you are really serious about civil liberties in general, then stopping the War on Drugs is essential, because this is the pernicious social cancer that's destroying them all.
Oct 1st, 2009 at 3:54pm
Google Marc Emery !
Oct 2nd, 2009 at 1:35pm
Wow! nice to know that there's still some folks out there who believe in rehabilitaion, now lets put the states money back in the hands of the people who truly wish to save a life,trained therapist,not over zealous C.O's and Bullshit 115's.You know ,maybe it's time for Micheal Moore to produce a documentry about the code of green in the cdcr.Be careful out there one day you could become a #.V
Oct 2nd, 2009 at 5:18pm
I am a former teacher at a men's correctional facitily in California. I hope and pray that at some point people like Ron and Maggie can take a deep breath and a step back in order to see what is really being requested by us "tree-huging, healthcare and sentencing reform supporting liberals." No one is wanting to let everyone out of prison. There are people in prison who should NEVER be let out. What is wanted is a system that is truly about fairness and justice. About time fitting the crime...about not lumping groups of people together for the sake of making you think that you are safer. I want people to make informed voting decisions instead of following the advertisements paid for by special interest groups that know you are too busy or preoccupied to research or care. It has nothing to do with disrespecting true victims of crime. It has everything to do with wanting a system that is not run by emotions alone, but on a desire for liberty and justice for all.
Oct 6th, 2009 at 4:07pm
My son turned 18 in March 05, 2008. Has had minor run in's with the law since 14 years old, all small stuff, but he was breaking the law. His trouble has always been with his cousin, he became so troublesome at home that I kicked him out 3 months before his 18th b-day, that's when things got worse, trying to eat and survive on the street he turned to his cousin for help. His cousin talked him into robbing people with a pellet gun, our family didn’t know anything about any of this and we let our son move back home April 2008 after an agreement was worked out between us, him and his uncle. His cousin was detained and gave them my sons info, he was arrested at 04:00 am on June 26th by the sheriffs dept. and local police, I am glad that happened, it was intervention that he needed in his life and this was the one thing that stopped him dead in his tracks; when we answered the door he whispered " I'm sorry dad ". I didn't see terror or fear, I saw the " okay, so what's next " look in his eyes. He admitted to the sheriffs, the detectives and his lawyer and the DA and the judge what he did and wrote 9 different letters of apology to the victims about what he did, he personally presented to the court 267 letters of recommendations of his character that included letters from current school administrators and teachers, including 1 from his Marine Corp. Staff Stg, he was fully cooperative with everyone involved from the beginning to the end. He knew he was wrong and that he broke the law. Over the next 8 months I saw my son hold his head high because he felt good to do the right thing and get this off his back and make amends by facing everyone involved and I saw my son go from 18 to the same little boy at 5 or 6 years old that was scared and ashamed and confused because he was realizing he couldn't fix what he had done, he knew that was going to be the harder part, he had to face the consequences of his actions. He took a plea bargain of 5 years, 85% mandatory. My son was going to Cal. state prison. My family hasn't recovered, my wife of 20+ years has moved into his room and cry's daily about our son, we blame each other for what has happened, my son is 485 miles away from home, and from his younger brothers and sisters, his youngest brother refuses to talk to him on the phone because he feels like his brother is no longer a good person who made a bad decision, but someone far worse, his youngest brother actually fears his brother because he has seen his brother portrayed as a murderous thug, a hardened criminal, his youngest sister is / was his best friend and has made several attempts to block all of this out, she feels wronged by the justice system, she doesn’t understand why they put him so far from home, she knows that he is a good person, she believes he deserved a second chance. Now that the story is out there, I want to make a couple of points -
Our prison system is broken, NO rehab. for just about everyone, budget cuts, population, medical care, even caged / wild animals get medical care food and water etc.... and yes caged / wild animals even receive an overwhelming rehabilitative support system before being released back into the wild, just look at the tv. And this continues to get worse as the days go on, everyday. What is being done to fix this when are we going to have rehab'ed inmates coming out instead of career criminals, rehab'ed inmates who can productively contribute to society and be law abiding tax payers?
My other point is alternatives to prison, I believe I have done enough research to know that there are alternatives out there ( rehab. programs that cover the gammit of crimes ). I believe the big question is which people deserve a second chance, yes second. I met with a lot of people from all kinds of groups, org's, churchs, you name it. I finally found a rehab. program through a church, 15 miles from home, that was founded by the church, located next to the church and run by people who are specially trained to deal with rehabing people from all walks of life and crimes. This program is recognized by and supported by local city counsel, mayor, sheriffs dept. district attorney and the list goes on, I have letters of recommendation from all of these groups including the actual president of the rehab. Facility, this program is even a confinement program for as long as the amount of incarceration imposed by the courts. NO One, not even his lawyer ( paid for by my family ) would give it any consideration stating it does nothing to punish my son for what he has done. 2 strikes, 5 years confinement, I didn’t say Disneyland or vacation, I said a facility widely recognized by law enforcement and the court system, punishment is defined by Websters dictionary as follows -
1 : the act of punishing
2 a : suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution b : a penalty inflicted on an offender through judicial procedure
3 : severe, rough, or disastrous treatment
The definition of rehabilitate is as follows -
1 a : to restore to a former capacity : reinstate b : to restore to good repute : reestablish the good name of
2 a : to restore to a former state (as of efficiency, good management, or solvency) b : to restore or bring to a condition of health or useful and constructive activity
Some would say he gets what he deserves for what he did, I would agree to the extent that he receives punishment and rehab. ( CDCR stands for California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ), look at the budget problem and cuts, where is that going to come from there is almost no rehab. available! My son is now 19 with almost no chance for rehabilitation, when he's released he will have no adult education, no trade / vocational experience, he will have become estranged from his brothers and sisters and other family, he will have had no adult life experiences except for the life he has learned in prison. I don't seek justice for my son, he has done what he has done and is answering for it, I ask you to ponder the only question I have left unanswered and help me find the answer.
If the program mentioned above doesn't cost the state any money and the facility program administrators are accountable to local, state and federal law inforcement, why wouldn't they consider this alternative to prison as an option, I mean they could use a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet as an additional means of enforcement. Give him a mental evaluation, look at his past, talk to his family, look at his support system then make a determination based on all of the above. He is a good person that made a bad decision, we have all made bad decisions before and how many of us feel we are good people? How many of us feel we deserved a second chance? Why continue to burden the state and the prison system when there are real alternatives that offer hope, they offer light at the end of the tunnel for so many people that will eventually end up on the streets again and they will be left with no options, no rehab. no way up or out of the systemic cesspool of a prison system.
The law makers and special interests are fighting about money, the budget, what about these inmates we call people? What about the one's we call human being's? And finally for alot of us, the one's we call our son's, daughters, fathers, mothers, our flesh and blood!
My son has a name, it's Michael, he was born on my birth date, by far the best present anyone could get. I am not ashamed of him, not because of denial, but because of how Michael has owned what he has done, if there were any way to make someone learn from what they have done wrong it would be to Incarcerate them,
1 : to put in prison 2 : to subject them to confinement.
We need to rehab. them, not lock them up and throw away the key until it's time for parole.
One quick point to make for all of those people out there that advocate only for the victims, merrium Webster defines it as –
1 : a living being sacrificed to a deity or in the performance of a religious rite
2 : one that is acted on and usually adversely affected by a force or agent : as a (1) : one that is injured, destroyed, or sacrificed under any of various conditions (2) : one that is subjected to oppression, hardship, or mistreatment b : one that is tricked or duped
My son is currently a victim! Again not based on my feelings but based on the current budget situation and the 3 federal judges that have stated very openly about the unconstitutionality of the overcrowding resulting in higher suicides and deaths from lack of proper medical care.
Hebrews 13:3 ( I fully understand the context )
Oct 26th, 2009 at 1:45pm
Good Morning Cali!.I would like to change the subject matter this week,and bring up the topic of Transparency of Parole Agents and there handling of parolees while away from the watchful eyes of their supervisors,namely their tactics and the way their reports are written and submitted to their commanding officers.Any real stories of agent fabrications or evidence tampering,if so please share your stories with the state,i'm sure others could use your support!. Cali,it's time too put an end to this "Good Old Boy Network" and promote "Justice for all".V
Dec 1st, 2009 at 1:40pm
Hello!,Cali,hope those of you who are on parole and made progress continue to move forward with the hope of one day being able to return to a normal life,i know you are always trying to aviod that three strikes revoling door by the human cattle pushers called parole agents! and special intrest groups cring rape every time one of us stands up and responds to cdcr's internal corruptions.Well for those of you who have been wronged by those with badges,look for a (parole agent watch group)in the near future! And remember practice reading between the lines before you sign,and document all contact with every agent they send your way it is your right! take care and choose Rehab over Three Strike Always.P.S. We are still loved by someone. V
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