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CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRESS ROOM | |
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| Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, 54 Dore Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 | Tel: (415) 621-5661 | Fax: (415) 621-5466 |
California's prison system has been overcrowded for years, and the situation is getting worse as the state grows. With 172,000 inmates in a system designed to hold fewer than 100,000, it should be obvious to our lawmakers that new facilities are needed quickly.
If nothing is done, California could be forced to release thousands of inmates before they serve out their sentences.
Such and action might undermine the state's successful "three-strikes" law that increased sentences for repeat offenders.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recognized the problem and called a special session of the Legislature last month to address the situation. He proposed a $6 billion prison-building and reform package.
The governor's plan would have financed two new $500 million prisons with bond money, which would allow them to be built quickly.
In addition to the new prisons, Schwarzenegger sought to establish new community-based prison facilities to house and counsel criminals who are about to be released.
The purpose of the centers and counseling would be to help prepare inmates to return to society, get jobs and avoid coming back into the system.
Also, under the governor's plan, 4,500 nonviolent female prisoners who are near their release time would be moved to community correctional facilities that are closer to their families.
Unfortunately, the Legislature rejected Schwarzenegger's plan. Some opponents of the governor believe that California can solve its prison problem by reducing recidivism and releasing prisoners.
That is hardly a solution. Reducing the number of repeat offenders makes sense and is part of the governor's plan. But it will take years for there to be any significant reduction in the prison population.
The alternative is to either reduce sentences and free inmates, which is no real solution to the problem, either.
California's prison crowding has reached crisis proportions and needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. Corrections officials say that they will run out of space for new convicts by next June, much less relieve crowded conditions.
If California is to maintain its tough sentencing laws, which have contributed to lower crime rates in the state, it must not allow dangerous criminals to get out of prison early or receive shorter sentences.
To deal with a problem the Legislature refuses to adequately address, Schwarzenegger may have to use his emergency powers to ease the crowding in the state's prison system
One move the governor is seriously considering is contracting with other states to take as many as 10,000 inmates.
Some states already have expressed interest in housing California inmates, according to James Tilton, acting secretary of the state's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Schwarzenegger also could open some buildings that are not used, such as a women's prison in Stockton and a youth detention center in Whittier.
These actions would ease crowding in the prison system for a few years, but they are not long-term solutions. Neither is the Democrat-controlled Legislature's alternative.
Its plan would cost less than $1 billion and would allow only an additional 5,340 beds.
The governor and Legislature need to agree on a compromise plan that allows for more expansion of prison facilities, establishes programs to reduce recidivism and offers alternatives to incarceration for some first-time, nonviolent criminals.
If they cannot agree soon, the governor should then declare a public-safety emergency and start sending some inmates to other states.
Maybe that will get the Legislature to act on a reasonable response to gross prison overcrowding.
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