Friday, November 14, 2003

California Politics: Jerry Brown and the Parole System

Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has been working on improving the parole system. And he's increasing his statewide visibility on the issue, probably hoping to run for state attorney general in 2006.

When Brown was governor of California, he ended the "indeterminate sentencing" approach that had once been seen as a progressive prison reform. The idea was that a person convicted of a crime would be sentenced to a relatively short minimum sentence but with no fixed maximum. This would allow the prison system to make sure he/she was rehabilitated before being released back into the community.

By the 1970s, this approach was receiving heavy criticism. Conservatives wanted more of a punishment and retribution model that focused on punitive minimum sentences. Liberal and radical-left prison reformers also rejected indeterminate sentencing, because in practice it often led to absurdly long sentences for lesser offenses.

Now Brown is highlighting the shortcomings of the current system. He complains that the parole system and the training programs in the prisons don't provide adequate support to allow released prisoners to adjust to the community:

<< "It's a system that provides 'R and R' and teambuilding for criminals. It's an insane system," Brown said. "The problem is that the system has no motivational incentives ... they must get some training, otherwise their only skill set is criminality."...

<< Brown and Police Chief Richard Word have been working with the parole and probation departments locally to do that. Brown helped create the Police and Corrections Team (PACT) program, which offers classes and stepped-up police supervision for Oakland parolees.

<< Brown, who plans to run for state attorney general and has made crime one of his issues, also helped secure a federal grant for Project Choice. It will target inmates for intensive services six to nine months before they are released back to Oakland. The first class of 40 San Quentin inmates and 20 California Youth Authority prisoners are now being recruited.

<< Next on Brown and Word's list is to convince parole officials to impose curfews on parolees who commit low-level crimes like drug sales. They would be enforced with random home visits and patrols, Word says. >>

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