CCPOA news
May 24, 2012
CJCJ advocates for closure of DJJ
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Escalating state budget deficits were revealed in California Governor Brown’s state 2012-13 May Revised Budget released May 14. This requires shared sacrifice in the form of additional cuts to state services, a theme previously articulated by the Governor. In December 2011, Governor Brown announced in Latin, “Nemo dat non habet,” which he translated to “No man gives what he does not have.” At the time, he used this expression to belie the severity of California’s fiscal crisis and the inevitable action required to plug the estimated $2.2 billion revenue shortfall.
In this spirit of fiscal responsibility, the Governor introduced a series of budget reductions or triggers, to take effect January 1, 2012 and reduce state spending by $980 million. These cuts affected a wide-range of programs, including state education and social services...
LINK - CaliforniaProgressReport.com
May 24, 2012
Media access to inmates legislation
A 15-year-old law, signed by former Governor Pete Wilson, restricts the press’s access to California’s prison inmate population. According to an editorial in the Los Angeles Times, it’s time that law was repealed.
At the time the Wilson administration insisted that doing away with in–person inmate interviews was necessary because too many prisoners were using the media to promote themselves, becoming celebrities in their own right.
Since then, the law may have had some unintended consequences. Prison inmates are no longer calling radio shows and touting book and movie deals, but there’s also not a lot of sunlight being shed on what happens inside the prison system...
LINK - SCPR.org
May 23, 2012
Orange County Grapples With Wave of State Parolees (AB 109)
An array of Orange County probation and police officials on Tuesday updated the Orange County Supervisors on the implementation of Gov. Jerry Brown’s unprecedented transfer of nearly 1,500 low-level prisoners and parolees from state supervision to local jails and streets.
In Orange County, the shift – commonly referred to as “AB 109,” for the state Assembly bill that authorized it – has probation officials scrambling to devise ways of monitoring additional felons in an environment of limited funds.
On Tuesday, Orange County Chief Probation Officer Steven Sentman told supervisors that the county has seen nearly 60 percent more state prisoners than originally estimated with 1,492 non-violent felons (compared to the original figure of 939) transferred since last October when the program began...
LINK - VoiceofOC.org
May 23, 2012
California voters support reduced drug possession penalties, survey says
Backers of a measure that would reduce possession of small amounts of heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine from a felony to a misdemeanor released a survey Wednesday that indicated up to 70% of likely voters statewide support the change.
The survey, conducted by California Tulchin Research, found respondents were more concerned with the state budget deficit than crime, and that a majority say they believe that state jails and prisons are overcrowded and that a new solution is necessary.
The report said that 87% of Californians surveyed support allowing drug offenders to avoid jail time if they complete a drug treatment program...
LINK - LATimes.com
May 23, 2012
Media Access in Prisons: LA Times Editorial
Until 1996, members of the news media could conduct one-on-one interviews with inmates in California prisons, giving the public a deeper understanding of what went on behind the barbed wire. This did not please the administration of Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, which was disgusted by the way some inmates abused this privilege to promote themselves — calling in to radio talk shows to complain about their treatment, or appearing on TV to plug their books or movie deals. So reporters were barred from holding in-person interviews.
"Why should some guy benefit from committing a crime?" complained J.P. Tremblay, then assistant secretary of the Corrections Department. "We did this because we didn't want to have inmates becoming celebrities and heroes."
There's no denying that in the intervening 16 years, few California prisoners have emerged as celebrities and heroes. Instead, we've witnessed what happens when inmates are locked away and forgotten, largely hidden from public scrutiny. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment...
LINK - LATimes.com
May 22, 2012
CalFire crews have training in preparation
A unit purchased with a Department of Homeland Security grant about four months ago will be stationed with the Shasta-Trinity Unit in the Redding area, Capt. Kyle Johnson said.
"We're pretty excited about it," Johnson said. "The guts are the same (as the vehicle being replaced), but it's a little different so we're trying to get as many people oriented to it as possible."
The engine in the command center, which is the sixth one to be put into service state-wide, is the same as those on the newer engines, which will make things easier for the mechanics, Johnson said...
LINK - RedBluffDailyNEws.com
May 22, 2012
Gov appoints wardens at Mule Creek, CMF, Wasco, others
APPOINTMENTS
By Governor. Contact: 916 445 4571.
Senate confirmation not required.
As chief of the contract beds unit, CA Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Dalinda Harman, 48, Sacramento, Democrat, chief community correctional facilities administrator, CDCR. Salary: $130,668.
To Council on Mentally Ill Offenders: Manuel Jimenez, 54, Turlock, Democrat, mental health director, Merced County. No compensation.
As warden, Wasco State Prison: John Katavich, 48, Bakersfield, Democrat, acting in the role since 2011. Salary: $130,668.
As warden, Mule Creek State Prison: William Knipp, 49, Gold River, Republican, acting in the role since 2011. Salary: $130,688.
As warden, California Medical Facility: Vimal Singh, 46, Elk Grove, Democrat, acting in the role since 2011. Salary: $130,688.
May 22, 2012
Symptoms of system in shambles - AB 109 Editorial
There was a lot of skepticism last year when Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 109 into law. As it turns out, it looks like the skeptics had it right.
AB 109 triggered the governor’s realignment strategy, which involves shifting low-level offenders from the state prison system to county jails throughout California.
At first glance, the plan seems to have the advantage of simplicity — the U.S. Supreme Court leans on the state to improve its process of crime and punishment, so inmates get shuttled off to local jails...
LINK - LompocRecord.com
May 22, 2012
Sex offender who removed ankle bracelet caught
A registered sex offender accused of cutting off his electronic ankle bracelet has been found, and is back in custody.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Deputies say Albert Lee Allen was arrested for no bail parole violation. Investigators say, an off-duty officer spotted Allen walking his dog and recognized him last Friday in Buellton. Deputies say they were able to arrest him shortly after he was spotted...
LINK - KSBY.com
May 22, 2012
Sex offender confesses to masturbating in laundry mat
Police arrested a high-risk sex offender Saturday night after a woman reported she saw him masturbating at a local laundry mat.
The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Robert Castaneda, was booked into the custody of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department on suspicion of indecent exposure.
The Porterville Police Department reports that at approximately 9:10 p.m., officers responded to the laundry mat in the sub-100 block of North D Street where the woman reported that an Hispanic man entered the business and was acting strange. She said a that a short time later, she saw the man masturbating in the corner of the building, the PPD reports. When she told him she was calling the police, he fled from the business on foot...
LINK - RecorderOnline.com
