Letter to the Editor of the Sacramento Bee
by Steve Birdlebough, Friends Committee on Legislation
California's prison failure
Re "Secretary defends parole
system," Feb. 21: I find it incredible that the acting secretary of the Youth
and Adult Correctional Agency was able to duck the main thrust of the
legislative analyst's findings: that "tens of thousands of parolees each year
are being released unprepared for a return for society." Other states have
discovered
ways of safely returning inmates to society, and parole failures
in those states are far less frequent than in California. Why can't we do as
well?
The Little Hoover Commission studied the California prison
problem last year, and the facts became quite clear. The California Department
of Corrections has never developed a quality control system to promote public
safety by reintegrating inmates into society with the needed life skills to get
and hold honest jobs.
The legislative analyst's report points out that
fewer than 3 percent of inmates with substance abuse problems are receiving
treatment, and fewer than 10 percent of parolees get job assistance.
It looks like the Department of Corrections is trying to justify public
expenditures for more new prisons, rather than using its facilities more
wisely.
Please send questions or comments to
factsla@sbcglobal.net.
Everything on this web site can be distributed to the general public,
reprinted, or reposted without permission of Families to Amend California's
3-Strikes.
Date last modified: 3/28/98.