Key provisions that would have changed the way we do sentencing and incarceration have been swept aside. These include a plan that would have allowed some prisoners to finish their sentences at home–which would have freed up huge amounts of jail space and saved money. They also removed provisions that would have changed some felonies to misdemeanors and would have created a sentencing commission to revamp sentencing rules.
Supporters of the three strikes law point to the drop in violent crime rate in California by around a third since 1994 as the state’s inmate grew by about 50,000. However, these supporters fail to note that 1994 marked the high point in violent crime in the nation, that California’s decrease by and large mirrors the decrease in the rest of the nation, most of whom did not implement the new law.
In the meantime, the prison situation is unsustainable. Costs have been driven up by 50% in less than a decade. A federal court has ordered the state to cut the prison population drastically. However, Assembly Democrats are running and hiding from the fear of being labeled soft on crime, as though it were 1994 all over again.
According to a New York Times editorial:
“The heart of the problem is California’s poorly designed parole system. A vast majority of states use parole to supervise serious offenders who require close monitoring. California has historically put just about everyone on parole. According to a federally backed study released last year, more people are sent to prison in California by parole officers than by the courts, and nearly half of those people go back on technical violations like missed appointments and failed drug tests.
The reform package that passed in the Senate would allow the state to focus parole efforts on serious offenders and end the costly practice of cycling people back to jail for technical violations. Under another provision, low-risk offenders like the elderly and the infirm could be removed from costly medical care in prison and sent to alternative custody nursing homes, where they would be monitored with electronic ankle bracelets. Low-risk inmates who completed college degrees or vocational programs would earn credits shortening their sentences.”
Does this not make sense? How is it soft on crime to have a system that actually determines who represents a threat to the public and who is a low-level risk?
Will people fall through the cracks under reform? No doubt. People fall through the cracks now. Crime happens. But we should focus our scarce resources on those who actually represent a threat to our safety.
Why not find alternative means to sentence people who do not represent a danger? Why not, allow some people to finish their sentences at home?
In fact, the deal reached by the Governor and Senate did not go far enough. That proposal identifies such four of 73 low-level, non-violent wobblers (those offense that can be treated either as felonies or misdemeanors) and seeks to convert them to misdemeanors. While that is a good start, they could go much further in that respect.
A second problem is the number of low-level drug offenders who end up in state prisons. Some suggest that people convicted of simple drug possession could be more effectively handled at the county level through community service, treatment, probation, or a combination thereof. The Ella Baker center estimates that step alone could save $1 billion annually. They also estimate that there are nearly 19,000 people on parole following prison time for simple drug possession. That represents 15% of the parole population at a cost of $4338 per person (just under half the cost of educating a child a year). That cost alone amounts to about $82 million per year.
The juvenile justice system is not working in California. It has a recidivism rate of 72% to go along with a budget of $436 million. The Ella Baker center estimates that if the Division of Juvenile Justice prisons were diverted to county custody and half of the budget used to support effective local treatment programs, it would allow for a net savings of about $200 million.
Indeed yesterday it was announced the CDCR would close one of the six youth prisons.
Zachary Norris, Director of the Books Not Bars program at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights said:
“We are gratified that the CDCR is heeding our call for smart criminal justice reforms that increase public safety and reduce wasteful prison spending. This is a positive first step. We must move further, phasing out the other five youth prisons and phasing into a locally-based therapeutic juvenile justice system. Then, we must implement all of the proposals in the People’s Budget Fix.”
Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, Deputy State Director of Drug Policy Alliance said:
“Today’s announcement is a good start, but the governor can and must do much more to reduce prison spending. If that $1.2 billion doesn’t come out of the prisons, it’s going to have to come from somewhere. We can’t allow more cuts to education, health care, drug treatment or other vital services that have already been cut too much.”
The corrections budget has consistently been the fastest growing part of state spending. It is now the 4th largest area of spending, comprising nearly 10 percent of our state budget.
What does California get for its money? We spend more on corrections than any other state but we have the highest recidivism rate in the nation – approximately 70 percent. And, without experiencing a massive spike in crime, 1 in 36 Californians today is under control of our corrections system compared with 1 in 69 in 1982. Basic reforms to our corrections system are long overdue. They will save us money and make California a much safer place.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
[i]How is it soft on crime to have a system that actually determines who represents a threat to the public and who is a low-level risk?[/i]
It shows you everything that’s wrong with too much direct democracy. When the issue is sensationalized, the people Know Better than those so-called experts on the parole boards.
I have the feeling that this freak case with Jaycee Lee Dugard makes things worse. Yes, the guy who kidnapped her is a monster. But they will be tempted to punish all 100,000 registered sex offenders in California for what he did.
In the end, federal courts might force California to grow up. Schwarzenegger begged the legislature to release 27,000 prisoners. The legislature said no, we can’t stomach that, how about 16,000 prisoners. But the courts said that we had better release 40,000 prisoners.
Texas manages to spend less than half what California spends on prisons, and they have roughly an equal number of prisoners.
You’re right, wdf. Texas pays prison guards less than it pays pest control workers. California pays prison guards twice as much as it pays pest control workers, in fact as much as it pays public school teachers.
In fact here is the larger disgusting picture:
California: 164,179 (prison) + 82,138 (jail) = 246,317 inmates
Population: 36.7 million
Prison wage: $30.40 / hour
Texas: 156,661 + 66,534 = 223,195 inmates
Population: 24.3 million
Prison wage: $14.36 / hour
Canada: 38,348 total inmates
Population: 33.2 million
Prison wage: who cares
[url]http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes333012.htm[/url]
[url]http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/worldbrief/[/url]
Populations and wages are all 2008, inmates are 2005 for US and 2007 for
Canada
It seems to me that in this comparison, only Canada comes across as civilized.
We spend more on prisons than any other state bc we are the most populous state. Perhaps we have the highest recidivism rate bc we have so much illegal immigration. After all, a good deal of the criminals in our prisons are illegal immigrants (drug dealers) from Mexico. We need to control our borders, to stop the leakage of criminals into this country. We then need a guest worker program, so that we can get our crops picked w cheap but LEGAL labor.
The Dugard case is an appalling example of how our parole system is not working. The criminal kidnapper/sex offender in the case was on parole, and supposedly “checked on” regularly, yet the parole officer totally missed the tent city out in the kidnapper/sex offender’s backyard where he held his captive for 18 years? Someone was not doing his/her job as a parole officer. Nor should NEVADA have ever let this creepy criminal go, to wreak havoc in the state of CA.
Also, don’t you think part of the problem w CA prisons being too costly is the ridiculously expensive salaries the prison guard unions have managed to negotiate? And other personnel working for the prison system get ludicrously high salaries.
Furthermore, why aren’t these prisoners put to work in CA, as they are in other states, to earn money for the prison system to help defray the costs? Instead, creeps like Charles Manson spend their days playing cards and doing drugs. CA prisons are a laughing stock.
“We spend more on prisons than any other state bc we are the most populous state.”
PER CAPITA not just in absolute terms.
“After all, a good deal of the criminals in our prisons are illegal immigrants (drug dealers) from Mexico. We need to control our borders, to stop the leakage of criminals into this country. We then need a guest worker program, so that we can get our crops picked w cheap but LEGAL labor.”
I wonder how Canada deals with any ne’er do well illegal immigrants from their south border. I also hear stories about drug traffickers from the U.S. who go to Canada to get their prescriptions filled more cheaply. It’s just so terrible what’s happening to this world.
Here’s a link to 2007 data on what different states pay to run their prison systems:
[url]http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/419/states-prisons.html[/url]
“We spend more on prisons than any other state bc we are the most populous state.”
If you look at the comparison between Texas and California that Kuperberg posted, you’ll see that Texas can take a prison population roughly equal to California’s and do it more cheaply. So I don’t think California’s larger population is the answer.
Texas has a longer border with Mexico and has to contend with more or less the same issues of illegal immigration as California. So I don’t think California has any particular special situation compared to Texas because of illegal immigration.
For what it’s worth, the PBS link above also shows that for every dollar spent on higher education, California spent 83 cents on prisons. By contrast, Texas spent 51 cents on prisons for every dollar spent on higher education.
[i]If you look at the comparison between Texas and California that Kuperberg posted, you’ll see that Texas can take a prison population roughly equal to California’s and do it more cheaply.[/i]
It can, but at a great moral cost. Texas treats prison workers like horses and prisoners like cattle. California prison guards are overpaid, and it is outrageous for their union to lobby for the “tough on crime” campaigns just to create employment for themselves. But at least the prison guards are treated like people.
It would be much better to reduce the prison guards’ mandate than to reduce their pay. Canada, not Texas, is the right example for California to follow.
[i]I wonder how Canada deals with any ne’er do well illegal immigrants from their south border.[/i]
And from Mexico, China, and India. They deal with them with a more humane immigration policy that brands fewer of them as illegal. Another good example for us to follow.
“And from Mexico, China, and India. They deal with them with a more humane immigration policy that brands fewer of them as illegal. Another good example for us to follow.”
I’m not buying this argument. The Mexican drug cartels are sending their drugs/dealers/gang bangers across the border to make money in this country by terrorizing our innocent population. What was the statistic – 75% of those in CA prisons are illegal immigrants (not sure of that figure – it is what I vaguely remember – so correct me if I am wrong here). Furthermore, Cuba had a pretty good hand in sending its prison population over here as well. We are becoming a cess pool of crime bc criminals are finding their way here from other countries bc of our lax immigration policies/target rich environment for crime victims.
Prison guards here are paid too da*n much. Did you know a nursing director in prisons makes over $300,000 per year? Prisons in CA are a moneymaking machine for those employed by it. Why aren’t we making the prisoners work, to help defray the cost? Frankly, I hope the prison guard unions end up pricing themselves right out of a job.
However, letting a lot of these prisoners go is not the answer. Nevada let the sex offender in the Dugard case go even tho he should have spent the rest of his life in prison (he received 50 years under federal law and life under state law). What did this creep do as soon as he got out way too early? Kidnap and hold as a sex slave the Dugard woman for 18 years. And what the h*ll were the parole officers doing, when they supposedly checked up on the kidnapper/sex offender on parole? How could they miss the tent city in the back yard/unexplained child in the house of a sex offender? The parole system really failed, a system we are paying ridiculously big bucks for! Heads should roll bc of the mistakes that were made in the Dugard case.
I would rather see sex offenders in prison and get the prisoners out who are incarcerated due to a drug and alcohol problems into rehab.
Anon, you said that you hope prison guard unions end up pricing themselves right out of a job. I have a question for you. Do you think that the Davis Firefighters will end up pricing themselves out of a job too? Or do you think our city will go bankrupt before they do this?
For those who think that California prison guards are overpaid I say that you should try one week in a prison and you will see what they are subjected to. Your life is on the line every second of every day that you are at work. You have body fluids thrown at you along with food and other debris. In addition to the many other dangers of being a prison guard. It’s not a job I would want and I’m sure many others including yourself would not want it either.
[i]I would rather see sex offenders in prison and get the prisoners out who are incarcerated due to a drug and alcohol problems into rehab.[/i]
It is all too convenient to blame all prison problems on the war on drugs. Yes, the system is too nasty to drug addicts. But most California prisoners are not in prison for simple possession. Most are there for violating other people or for serious acts of destruction or stealing.
A sweeping statement like “I would rather see sex offenders in prison”, in the end, adds fuel to the fire. California has more than 100,000 registered sex offenders. By contrast, Canada only has 38,000 people in prison and jail, total. How does Canada manage it? How does civilization not come to a crashing halt north of the border, when they have well fewer than 1/5 as many prisoners per capita as California? And Canada does have a lot of unassimilated immigrants who barely speak English, including a gang members, even if it chooses to allow more of them to enter legally.
The answer is that restraint is the better part of decency. Canada is perfectly eager to investigate crimes and to prosecute crimes. But compared to the US, they do not hit criminals hard once they have been convicted. Canada realizes that long prison sentences do not protect civilization, they undermine it.
[i]Do you think that the Davis Firefighters will end up pricing themselves out of a job too?[/i]
California prison guards really are doing to the state what firefighters did to Vallejo. Maybe they do deserve their high pay; I withhold judgment. They absolutely do not deserve to bang the drums for “tough on crime” campaigns, just to create work for themselves. When they do that, they are vultures.
The Woodland Record has an interesting couple of articles on gang activity in Woodland:
[url]http://woodlandrecord.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=746&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2656&hn=woodlandrecord&he=.com[/url]
The second of the articles has the ominous title, “Gangs Recruit Fouth Graders”.
[url]http://woodlandrecord.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=833&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2656&hn=woodlandrecord&he=.com[/url]
wdf, my thinking about Yolo County law enforcement has been pulled in two directions. On the one hand, I haven’t really seen that Reisig isn’t clean. Prieto seems kind-of arrogant at times, but he doesn’t really seem wrong in his main claims. I would be a little surprised if David’s campaign against these two people worked.
On the other hand, I can see that “gang” is Yolo County’s local version of “terrorist”. Yes, there are gangs, and yes, there are terrorists. Yes, they are a problem, and yes, the authorities should go after them. But let’s not lose our heads.
The idea that gangs are “recruiting” fourth-graders is a hysterical exaggeration. That is like saying that if you hear a Muslim fourth-grader deny the Holocaust, he has been “recruited” by al Qaeda.
If I had a fourth-grade son who started wearing gang clothes and got a gang tattoo, I would be very angry. Sure, it’s bad behavior. But there are gangs and then there are gangs. Even a serious gang “chapter”, like the one that killed two people on Halloween in Woodland, is typically just a bad circle of friends. They don’t recruit the way that the Army recruits.
“Anon, you said that you hope prison guard unions end up pricing themselves right out of a job. I have a question for you. Do you think that the Davis Firefighters will end up pricing themselves out of a job too? Or do you think our city will go bankrupt before they do this?
For those who think that California prison guards are overpaid I say that you should try one week in a prison and you will see what they are subjected to. Your life is on the line every second of every day that you are at work. You have body fluids thrown at you along with food and other debris. In addition to the many other dangers of being a prison guard. It’s not a job I would want and I’m sure many others including yourself would not want it either.”
I think both prison guards and firefighters are going to cause this state/city to go broke if we don’t rein them in. And prison guards don’t have a lock on dealing w body fluids. A nurse does the same thing, as does a mother with a newborn. And nurses put up with drunks on Saturday night urinating on the floor of the emergency room (had this happen when I had to go to the ER one night). Lots of people have tough jobs. That doesn’t give them the right to pig out at the public trough.
“By contrast, Canada only has 38,000 people in prison and jail, total. How does Canada manage it? How does civilization not come to a crashing halt north of the border, when they have well fewer than 1/5 as many prisoners per capita as California? And Canada does have a lot of unassimilated immigrants who barely speak English, including a gang members, even if it chooses to allow more of them to enter legally.”
Comparing the U.S. crime stats w Canada is like comparing apples and oranges. Canada has long, cold winters that no self-respecting criminal will put up with. Additionally, Canada has far fewer people in it than the U.S., so of course they will have far fewer criminals. Furthermore, you don’t know how many criminals never make it to court, but are done away with by the mounted police. Now I am being a bit facetious, but take China for instance. They have a much “lower” criminal population than the U.S. bc they execute a lot of their criminals – just wipe them off the face of the earth. It is not uncommon for drug users in other cultures to be put to death. With such harsh sentences, there is huge deterrence to committing crime in those countries. In this country, death for drug possession would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
“California prison guards really are doing to the state what firefighters did to Vallejo. Maybe they do deserve their high pay; I withhold judgment. They absolutely do not deserve to bang the drums for “tough on crime” campaigns, just to create work for themselves. When they do that, they are vultures.”
Excellent observation!
“The idea that gangs are “recruiting” fourth-graders is a hysterical exaggeration.”
I wish it were an exaggeration, but its not. Gang initiation starts very young, with children at 13 years of age recruited to commit murder. We had a 14 year old in this town join in murdering another child. Same thing happened in Sacramento not too many years ago. It is not a stretch to think gang recruitment starts at age 10.
“What was the statistic – 75% of those in CA prisons are illegal immigrants (not sure of that figure – it is what I vaguely remember – so correct me if I am wrong here).”
Why would you post something like this without looking up your facts? I’ve seen estimates from right wingers as high as 30%. However, the official stats put much lower than that.
The PPIC which I would consider the best in terms of this kind of research found that immigrants (legal and illegal) are actually underrepresented in the prison population.
They make up 35% of the state population but only 17% of the prison population.
SOURCE ([url]http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cacounts/CC_208KBCC.pdf[/url])
There is crime associated with illegal immigration but it tends to be in their transport along with illicit drugs. Most people who actually come here and coming here to work and send money to their families in Mexico.
[i]And prison guards don’t have a lock on dealing w body fluids. A nurse does the same thing[/i]
Yes, and the average wage for nurses in California is $40 an hour, which is more than prison guards make.
[i]Did you know a nursing director in prisons makes over $300,000 per year?[/i]
In order to know it, it should first be true. The federal receiver who runs California’s prisoners has the authority to pay prison doctors up to $300,000 per year. Which is completely different from paying nurses over $300,000 per year. This authority was granted because California prisons were paying doctors wages far below the market rate. Prisoners were dying from medical incompetence and vacancies.
[i]Comparing the U.S. crime stats w Canada is like comparing apples and oranges. Canada has long, cold winters that no self-respecting criminal will put up with. Additionally, Canada has far fewer people in it than the U.S.[/i]
Canada, population 32 million, has barely half as many total prisoners as Michigan, population 10 million. They both have long, cold winters. In any case, the imprisonment rate across the United States does not depend all that much on the weather.
“And prison guards don’t have a lock on dealing w body fluids. A nurse does the same thing”
“Yes, and the average wage for nurses in California is $40 an hour, which is more than prison guards make.”
Mothers deal w bodily fluids, as do janitorial staff that clean rest rooms, and they do not make what prison guards make!
“In any case, the imprisonment rate across the United States does not depend all that much on the weather.”
Sure it does, and the density of the population. In Canada, they have considerably fewer people than the U.S. spread throughout a country almost as big as ours, w long cold vicious winters. It is not a target rich environment for victims like the U.S. is. Common sense should tell you that.
Then wouldn’t you expect the crime rate in the cities of Canada to mirror that of the cities in the northern US? Which city do you think has a higher crime rate–Anchorage or Calgary? And why?
[i]Then wouldn’t you expect the crime rate in the cities of Canada to mirror that of the cities in the northern US? Which city do you think has a higher crime rate–Anchorage or Calgary? And why?[/i]
There have been comparisons between, for instance, Seattle and Vancouver. They have similar weather, similar economies, similar populations, and roughly the same crime rates. But Seattle sends vastly more people to prison than Vancouver does.
It is a bitter irony given that America sees itself as the land of freedom. Somewhere along the way, “freedom” became personal responsibility, and “personal responsibility” became imprisonment.
It’s just a colossal waste.
“Sure it does, and the density of the population. In Canada, they have considerably fewer people than the U.S. spread throughout a country almost as big as ours, w long cold vicious winters. It is not a target rich environment for victims like the U.S. is. Common sense should tell you that.”
Common sense? I don’t follow this logic. Overall, the U.S. has a pretty low population density — 177 on this list from wikipedia:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density[/url]
But the highest incarceration rate in the world:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density[/url]
Spain is denser than the U.S. and has a lower incarceration rate (76th).
Same for France and Italy. I’m choosing countries here that are warmer, are democracies, and are generally more affluent.
Reference to incarceration rates should be this link:
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate[/url]
And Russia appears to have a high incarceration rate (3rd in the world) but a colder climate and actually a pretty low density.
I am from canada and i wanted to say that what needs to be reformed is the kind of gov. that we have.We are living in a class society where the majority of the people live in poverty.The people who work in factories and the servise depts. in most cases make low money and the working conditions are bad.Then there are a lot of people that are unemployed through no fault of their own.Over a period of time these conditions instead of getting better gets worse for many people.There is a problem with housing also for the majority of the people.It is no wonder with these problems that a lot of people end up in prison.Looking at the world in general over half of the population of the world live in these conditions.
With the kind of gov. that we have there is no end in site for the people that are down and out.The prison problem is a result of the kind of gov.that we have.The feudal type of gov.had to be done away with so that capitalism could work.So at the present time capitalism is a problem the same way feudalism became a problem over time.The world is always changing and in time the people who produce the goods that the people need will own the means of production and things will be done for the good of the people.Then there won’t be any need for prisons.
Stan Squires