| .........
LA police blasts state budget deal which
will release 27,000 felons into communities
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
Police Protective
League - LAPD officer's union |
LA police blasts state budget deal which will release 27,000 felons into communities
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: |
Eric Rose (805) 624-0572 .. or ..
Paul Haney (626) 755-4759 |
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Police Protective League (LAPPL) is the police union that represents the rank and file LAPD officers. |
LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2009 -- The Los Angeles Police Protective League said the state budget deal which calls for the early release of 27,000 inmates from state prisons will put the public's safety at risk and will increase the number of victims and the cost of crime in California. .
According to news reports, legislators have agreed to allow some inmates to finish their sentences on home detention, creating new incentives for the completion of rehabilitation programs and scaling back parole supervision for the least serious offenders.
"For months we have been warning the public that the prison gates are going to fly open in order to close a $26.3 billion state budget deficit. The fact is that California officials that are jeopardizing public safety, as the overall costs and risks far outweigh any initial savings to the Department of Corrections budget," said League President Paul M. Weber.
"Obviously, solving a budget deficit of this magnitude is going to require significant budget cuts. However, pushing the state's budget problems into local communities is going to directly jeopardize the safety of California residents," added Weber.
"The state's release of the prisoners to local jails is a poor attempt to cover up this dangerous move. Los Angeles and 32 other California counties are at their court-ordered capacity limits, so 'early release' really means commuting sentences and putting criminals back on the streets. Sheriff Baca was right when he said, 'The Governor and state legislators have taken the budget and turned it into a 4.3 billion-dollar wrecking ball, decimating county and cities' revenues. This is a form of revenue robbery and is a new low in state governmental affairs. Most important to remember is this budget is nothing more than fantasy, and does not deserve praise or support from the people of California.'
The Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), which examined early prisoner releases, found early releases were a dangerous shell game with 70 percent of released inmates re-arrested within three years. The study found one in five prisoners committed a violent crime after release.
Another study by the Rand Corp. ("Crime Costs and Public Policy," January 2009) found that the average prisoner on early release commits 13 new crimes before being re-arrested. Applying these numbers to California's early release programs equates to 245,000 new crimes and crime victims over the next 36 months.
"The state is practicing faulty math in failing to consider the high cost of incremental crime to our communities," Weber said. "Each incident of crime costs taxpayers, on average, $18,000 for arrest and prosecution. Thus, the early release program will cost taxpayers more than $4 billion over three years based on the number of inmates to be released and standard recidivism rates. On top of the wasted dollars there is a much greater toll - the pain and suffering of victims, their families and our communities."
Weber said state officials have attempted to portray some of the inmates being released as low-risk and nonviolent.
"In fact," Weber said, "the people being considered for release are convicted felons and many have plea bargained their crimes down to lesser offenses. A large number of them are parole violators -- in other words, they are people who have already proven they cannot remain law abiding after being released from prison. That is why they were rearrested and put back into custody."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the LAPPL: Formed in 1923, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) represents the more than 9,800 dedicated and professional sworn members of the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPPL can be found on the Web at www.LAPD.com |
|
|
|
