Huber, others call on CDCR to protect public as early release of prisoners begins


Assembly members Alyson Huber and Ted Lieu have joined Crime Victims United and law enforcement officials to call on the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement common-sense public safety protections as tens of thousands of prisoners begin to be set free early, many without parole supervision and with no rehabilitation. Huber and Lieu announced the introduction of Assembly Bill 1678 to mandate public safety protections.

"Public safety must be our number one priority," said Huber. "That's why we are calling on CDCR to work closely with local law enforcement. They are the ones who must deal with the realties of these choices and the more information that is available the better prepared law enforcement will be to ensure our continued protection."

Huber and Lieu were joined by Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, San Joaquin County Assistant Sheriff Myron Kelso and Crime Victims United President Harriet Salerno, as well as representatives from Los Angeles law enforcement organizations.

Under the governor's proposals, which are now law, three fundamental changes will occur. First, many criminals behind bars in either state prisons or local jails will have their confinement cut in half. For every six months a criminal serves in confinement, that criminal will receive six months of early release credit. Second, for state prisoners, CDCR begins determining which prisoners to release without parole supervision, also known as Non-Revocable Parole. Third, rehabilitation programs in state prisons will be gutted and 600 to 800 vocational and educational prison instructors will be given pink slips.

"As a tidal wave of prisoners is released back into our community, many of them without rehabilitation services or parole supervision, it is imperative that common-sense public safety protections be in place to protect the public and help local law enforcement shoulder the burden of the early release of convicted criminals," said Lieu. "Law enforcement not only needs to know who CDCR is releasing early and without parole supervision, but they should also have a voice to ensure CDCR isn't releasing prisoners who will immediately commit another crime."

Assembly Bill 1678, authored by Lieu and Huber, was introduced last week to mandate common-sense public safety protections. Specifically, AB 1678 would enable local law enforcement agencies to object to the release of a convicted felon into Non-Revocable Parole status; require CDCR to notify local law enforcement agencies with critical information about identity, location and criminal history within a reasonable time period prior to their release; and increase transparency by making public a list of crimes committed by prisoners being released without parole supervision.

Excerpted from www.mtdemocrat.com