July 16, 2011
U.S. Supreme Court ruling threatens state fire camps
The U.S Supreme Court ruling requiring California to reduce its prison population has thrown the future of the state's decades-old inmate firefighter program into question amid a budget crisis that already has Cal Fire struggling with staffing cuts.
In May, the court ordered California officials to cut by roughly 33,000 the number of inmates in the state's prison system over the next two years. The decision stems from a finding that crowding has led to inadequate physical and mental health services for inmates.
To address the problem and comply with the ruling, Gov. Jerry Brown put forth "realignment" -- a plan to transfer certain nonviolent convicts to county jails and other community-based facilities around the state. Under realignment, many of the more than 4,000 offenders who make up California's 200 inmate crews would be moved out of the state system...
LINK - PE.com
