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| Budget crisis leads to parole reforms |
| By abclocal.go.com |
| Published: 07/10/2009 |
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SACRAMENTO, CA (KGO) -- Under a new Corrections Department policy, over-crowded state prisons and a daunting budget deficit could mean less prison time for low-level parolees who are arrested for technical violations, a move critics call "early release." Each year, 70,000 prison admissions are due to technical violations -- more than admissions for new crimes. "They call it "doing life on the installment plan" because they come back, on average, of three-month violations, sometimes three times a year," Corrections Department spokesperson Seth Unger said. "In and out so many times, there's really no public safety to that." If the offense is minor and committed by a low risk offender, like missing a meeting with a parole agent or having alcohol in the house, the state parole board can now grant alternative sentences, like rehab, house arrest or just go back on parole instead of prison time. The lack of dollars is the guiding force. "Right now we're trying to implement parole reform, making better use of our taxpayer dollars while at the same time improving public safety," Unger said. Read More. |
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