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Prison Crisis: Countdown to DEFCON 1
The Republican Party of Orange County regularly solicits the views and news of the state and federal delegation. Please read this week's Op-Ed by California Assemblyman Bob Huff
Thirteen years ago the Legislature and voters approved the Three Strikes and You’re Out Law to require longer prison sentences for certain repeat offenders. Since, violent crimes have continued to decline – because the criminals committing those crimes are in prison.
In fact, today there are approximately 174,000 inmates living in our prisons which were designed with a maximum occupancy of 100,000. These prisoners are practically living on top of one another – beds are lined up in hallways, libraries and gymnasiums to accommodate everyone. The unstable environment poses great danger to the guards and other inmates.
Furthermore, these warehouse conditions thwart any real opportunity for rehabilitation. I have toured the Men’s Prison in Chino and Folsom Prison to witness the situation first-hand. And, the conditions are disturbing.
This is only part of the problem: The prison healthcare programs were taken over by a federal receiver last year. The state inspector general just issued a report that drug treatment programs in our prisons are a billion-dollar failure. And, if overcrowding isn’t resolved in the next three months, a federal judge may impose a cap on the state’s prison population. Read my lips: No New Prisoners.
In a desperate move, the Governor authorized the involuntary transfer of inmates last week. Unfortunately, the courts determined the transfers were illegal. Now, the only option left on the table before the June deadline is releasing felons back onto the streets early.
The cost of sustaining our prison system has doubled in recent years to consume 8% of our state budget – approximately $10 billion – driven in large part by employee salary increases, court-ordered mandates and inmate population growth. If the legislature doesn’t act soon, the federal government will intervene with no regard for cost and no respect the very real limitations of our state budget.
We are confronted with this crisis because of neglect – what was a benign cyst has become a threatening tumor. The Democrat-controlled Legislature failed to keep prison capacity on pace with the state’s population increase. Now their solution is sentencing reform; lighter sentences means fewer prisoners.
Unfortunately the logic is flawed. Fewer prisoners don’t mean fewer crimes committed – just the opposite. These legislators should be less concerned about their districts and more focused on the well being of the entire state.
Many feel the Three Strikes law is too harsh, sending drug addicts to prison instead of the “real” bad guys. But, it takes a long history of criminal activity to land in state prison. Prison bars will be replaced by an automatic revolving door if we reduce the sentences for repeat offenders. Dumbing down a system that is working, by releasing prisoners early or not sending them to prison at all, will expose our families to greater risk – an unacceptable situation.
There is only one effective approach: Long term prison construction and rehabilitation should be a part of every year’s budget. It should never get to the point that it has gotten to now. Just as the decline of crime rates in California is a direct correlation to stricter sentencing laws, stricter sentencing laws are a direct correlation to the need to build more prisons. As long as we want to keep prisoners off the streets to prevent them from committing new crimes against new victims, we need to build facilities to house them. Anything else is unfair to the taxpayers who deserve the security and safety of law and order.
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