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| Corrections expert urges overhaul in state prisons |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 09/20/2004 |
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Former Gov. George Deukmejian, the law-and-order politician who helped build California's prison system into the nation's largest, told a government reform panel Sept. 10 that the state must provide more education and job training to inmates to keep them from committing more crimes. Deukmejian, a Republican sometimes referred to as "Iron Duke" by critics, assured the panel he has not gone soft on crime since leaving office 13 years ago. "This is not about coddling criminals," he told a public hearing of the California Performance Review commission devoted to corrections reform and public safety. "This is about protecting the public." Deukmejian said the state must provide education and job training to adults and juveniles while they are in custody to help reduce the state's 70-percent recividism rate, one of the highest in the nation. He added that prison officials should evaluate inmates and their needs when they enter the system instead of just before they leave. The commission is holding public hearings on an overhaul of state government that backers say would save up to $32 billion over the next five years by consolidating departments, cutting growth in state employment and privatizing some operations. Deukmejian was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as chairman of an independent review panel that evaluated the state's troubled adult and juvenile corrections system. |
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