Panel says Calif AG should promote rehabilitation
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
San Francisco, CA (AP) --
California Attorney General Kamala Harris should take on an expanded role by attacking the roots of crime while trying to keep parolees from returning to prison, law enforcement and reform experts said in a report and comments Wednesday.
The report, requested by Harris and written by an advisory panel, also said one of the top jobs of the state's chief law enforcement officer should be reducing recidivism. That was one of Harris' promises during last year's campaign.
Seven of every 10 parolees return to prison within three years, even though the state spends nearly double the national average to keep inmates incarcerated and nearly a third more than the national average on supervising parolees. The skyrocketing costs consume a dime of every dollar from the state's general fund.
"We are paying more and getting less than nearly any other state in the country," wrote the group led by Los Angeles County's sheriff and the district attorneys of Merced and San Diego counties.
"It is sucking us dry financially," said Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse in presenting the report at a conference with more than 150 experts convened by Harris in San Francisco. The attorney general, he said, can be a "voice of leadership" in seeking solutions.
The advisers who gathered Wednesday were among 435 experts Harris asked to spend three months examining how California can resolve problems in 11 areas, ranging from gangs and guns to enforcement of environment laws and school truancy. Others addressed mortgage fraud, consumer protection, civil rights and victims' rights.
Harris said in an interview with The Associated Press that she has made no commitment to accept any of the recommendations, though her office already had begun working on some of the problems outlined in the reports.
She said a common theme from her advisers was that she can use her office to "bring people together around a table." She said her office also can gather information to help solve problems and set standards, and that she can use the power of her office to promote changes.
Harris has long said the state needs to be "smart on crime" as well as tough on crime. She called her advisers the "smart on crime work groups."
"We have to not only look at reacting to crime but prevention of crime," she said in response to the recidivism group's report.
This year, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed shifting lower-risk offenders and parolees to counties' jurisdiction as part of his plan to bridge a deficit of nearly $27 billion in the state budget.
Harris' group noted that county jails and services already are overburdened. Putting more money into treating and educating ex-convicts, and finding them jobs and housing, would cost less and produce better results in the long run, the group said.
"Those who are violent and dangerous need to be locked up for a long time," said San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican who was co-chairwoman of group that examined inmate recidivism. "Those who we have a chance to turn around, we need to do that."
The group also recommended that Harris follow the lead of several other states and convene a state level "re-entry council" that would coordinate services among state agencies.
"It's a very different role," Harriet Salarno, founder and chairwoman of Crime Victims United of California, said in a telephone interview. "My question is, how far can the attorney general legally go? It seems like it's infringing on the governor and the Legislature."
She was upset that no victims' rights representatives were on the re-entry panel, though another of Harris' groups addressed victims' rights.
Dumanis said in a telephone interview that she expected the governor would welcome Harris' leadership. Brown spokesman Gil Duran said he could not immediately comment.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/03/16/state/n000410D84.DTL
San Francisco, CA (AP) --
California Attorney General Kamala Harris should take on an expanded role by attacking the roots of crime while trying to keep parolees from returning to prison, law enforcement and reform experts said in a report and comments Wednesday.
The report, requested by Harris and written by an advisory panel, also said one of the top jobs of the state's chief law enforcement officer should be reducing recidivism. That was one of Harris' promises during last year's campaign.
Seven of every 10 parolees return to prison within three years, even though the state spends nearly double the national average to keep inmates incarcerated and nearly a third more than the national average on supervising parolees. The skyrocketing costs consume a dime of every dollar from the state's general fund.
"We are paying more and getting less than nearly any other state in the country," wrote the group led by Los Angeles County's sheriff and the district attorneys of Merced and San Diego counties.
"It is sucking us dry financially," said Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse in presenting the report at a conference with more than 150 experts convened by Harris in San Francisco. The attorney general, he said, can be a "voice of leadership" in seeking solutions.
The advisers who gathered Wednesday were among 435 experts Harris asked to spend three months examining how California can resolve problems in 11 areas, ranging from gangs and guns to enforcement of environment laws and school truancy. Others addressed mortgage fraud, consumer protection, civil rights and victims' rights.
Harris said in an interview with The Associated Press that she has made no commitment to accept any of the recommendations, though her office already had begun working on some of the problems outlined in the reports.
She said a common theme from her advisers was that she can use her office to "bring people together around a table." She said her office also can gather information to help solve problems and set standards, and that she can use the power of her office to promote changes.
Harris has long said the state needs to be "smart on crime" as well as tough on crime. She called her advisers the "smart on crime work groups."
"We have to not only look at reacting to crime but prevention of crime," she said in response to the recidivism group's report.
This year, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed shifting lower-risk offenders and parolees to counties' jurisdiction as part of his plan to bridge a deficit of nearly $27 billion in the state budget.
Harris' group noted that county jails and services already are overburdened. Putting more money into treating and educating ex-convicts, and finding them jobs and housing, would cost less and produce better results in the long run, the group said.
"Those who are violent and dangerous need to be locked up for a long time," said San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a Republican who was co-chairwoman of group that examined inmate recidivism. "Those who we have a chance to turn around, we need to do that."
The group also recommended that Harris follow the lead of several other states and convene a state level "re-entry council" that would coordinate services among state agencies.
"It's a very different role," Harriet Salarno, founder and chairwoman of Crime Victims United of California, said in a telephone interview. "My question is, how far can the attorney general legally go? It seems like it's infringing on the governor and the Legislature."
She was upset that no victims' rights representatives were on the re-entry panel, though another of Harris' groups addressed victims' rights.
Dumanis said in a telephone interview that she expected the governor would welcome Harris' leadership. Brown spokesman Gil Duran said he could not immediately comment.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/03/16/state/n000410D84.DTL
No comments:
Post a Comment