“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: