An article in the LA Times (August 8th 2013) tells how Governor Jerry Brown is scrambling to avoid releasing 10,000 prisoners, all of whom presumably have been classified as 'Low Risk' according to the State's classification system.
One wonders why the State paid so much to install the California State Risk Assessment system (CSRA) if they refute their own findings. It strains credulity.
Instead of releasing these 'low-risk' inmates, the state would rather work out a deal to move hundreds of prisoners to Alameda County jails, rent space at private prisons in Kern County, and consider reopening two low-security detention centers. "And how much would those measures cost?" you ask... the LA Times described those measures as "costly," and that is saying a lot considering California already has the largest and most costly prison system anywhere. Want some figures to illustrate this?
The budget for prisons went from 4.7 billion in 2004 to nearly 10 billion in 2007. I have not seen any figures for how big the Corrections budget became in 2012, but this would be a good time to ask Jerry Brown for an estimate of what the Corrections budget might balloon to in 2014. If even half of these costly measures were adopted, the figure could be jaw-dropping.
How many citizens do you think would want to know that their futures are being spent on Corrections? Do you think it matters to the California State Colleges, where tuition fees are likely to skyrocket, or might it matter to State employees who are hoping there will still be a state pension fund when they retire? And should this escalated 'no returns' spending matter when municipalities in California are declaring bankruptcy?
One wonders why the State paid so much to install the California State Risk Assessment system (CSRA) if they refute their own findings. It strains credulity.
Instead of releasing these 'low-risk' inmates, the state would rather work out a deal to move hundreds of prisoners to Alameda County jails, rent space at private prisons in Kern County, and consider reopening two low-security detention centers. "And how much would those measures cost?" you ask... the LA Times described those measures as "costly," and that is saying a lot considering California already has the largest and most costly prison system anywhere. Want some figures to illustrate this?
The budget for prisons went from 4.7 billion in 2004 to nearly 10 billion in 2007. I have not seen any figures for how big the Corrections budget became in 2012, but this would be a good time to ask Jerry Brown for an estimate of what the Corrections budget might balloon to in 2014. If even half of these costly measures were adopted, the figure could be jaw-dropping.
How many citizens do you think would want to know that their futures are being spent on Corrections? Do you think it matters to the California State Colleges, where tuition fees are likely to skyrocket, or might it matter to State employees who are hoping there will still be a state pension fund when they retire? And should this escalated 'no returns' spending matter when municipalities in California are declaring bankruptcy?
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