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June 28, 2006
"Hasta la vista, prison overcrowding!"
I cannot resist referencing one of my favorite action films to introduce the news that California Governor Schwarzenegger has called the state's legislature into special session to address prison overcrowding. Both TalkLeft and Crime and Consequences provide blog coverage of the news, and traditional media coverage can be found in the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. Here are a few highlights from this official press release coming from the Governor's office:
Governor Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation today calling the Legislature into special session starting June 27 to address critical prison crowding and recidivism measures. The Governor has proposed several reforms to build new state prisons and local jail facilities, reduce crowding and move female inmates into community-based correctional facilities. Calling a special session enables the Governor to press for passage of these measures before the close of the Legislative session in August.
"Our prisons are at the crisis point because the State of California has not planned adequately for its future and has not faced up to the need to build new prisons as well as hire and train more officers. I am calling on my partners in the Legislature to join me in taking action to face these challenges head on," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "By building more prisons, managing the inmate population more effectively and implementing common-sense measures that target the most dangerous criminals, we can greatly improve our prison and rehabilitation system.
"We can enact meaningful reform that ensures the safety of our correctional staff and makes sure more of our parolees stay out of prison after they're released. If we work together, I know we can do this and once again give California a model prison system." California's prison population is at an all time high of more than 171,000 inmates. The CDCR is double-bunking inmates and there are currently more than 16,000 inmates housed in prison gyms and day rooms throughout the various 33 correctional institutions.
Some related posts on California's prison woes:
June 28, 2006 at 08:44 AM | Permalink
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Comments
Yes, but will the issue of prison overcrowding eventually say "I'll be back?"
(Sorry I couldn't resist!)
Posted by: Anne | Jun 29, 2006 9:55:13 AM
I am a student currently attending the University of Phoenix. And in process of obtaining my associates degree in "criminal justice"
Posted by: Maria Franco | Aug 24, 2006 9:43:08 PM
Same student attending University of Phoenix.
I was interested in stats, regarding overcrowding in the jails and prisons, I came across this web site and article, it looked interesting. Any suggestions as to where else I might find more information pertaining to my topic "Jail Overcrowding" especially regarding the safety of law enforcement as well as the community.
Any suggestions or help on this would be most apprecitive.
Thank you, Maria
Posted by: Maria Franco | Aug 24, 2006 9:48:35 PM
Maria...if you want the latest figures check out the CDCR website. Go to reports, I think on the left hand side of the page. Next page opens, click on current weekly numbers or population reports ( I dont remmeber which it's called) It will give you not only how many inmates are in each Ca. facility this week but how many were paroled in the last week for each prison. It will aslo break down the design capacity for each level of each prison, the staffed capacity, the current population and then it shows you at what percent each prison is operating at. For instance, LA facility is operating at almost 600%!!!!!!! Thats overcrowded!!!!
Posted by: want2binformed | Jul 28, 2007 5:45:54 PM
