BROADEN SCOPE OF PRISON REFORM

The special session called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to deal with
the crisis in the state prisons is getting off to a slow start.

That may be a good thing.

The proposals that the Legislature must consider should not be
limited to the five bills that Schwarzenegger has put forward, and
were introduced by Republicans in the Legislature Wednesday.

The Legislature must cast its net as widely as possible to gather the
best ideas for reforming a system that is at a boiling point.

Schwarzenegger's bills do include a rehabilitative component,
including a landmark effort to put 4,500 nonviolent women inmates in
facilities closer to where they used to live. But the major emphasis
of Schwarzenegger's plan is on prison construction. While new prisons
may be necessary to help relieve prison overcrowding, they should
only be built as part of a comprehensive prison-reform plan.

The essential elements of such a plan can be found in a report issued
this week by a task force of distinguished individuals with decades
of experience with the California correctional system. Remarkably,
the report appears to have shaped an agenda that has the ability to
garner the support of constituencies often on dueling sides in the
prison debate. Even the California Correctional Peace Officers
Association, representing 33,000 prison guards and other prison
personnel, has endorsed the report, at least "conceptually." (The
full report can be found at www.nccd-crc.org).

Convened by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in Oakland,
the task force focuses on four key areas, including improving
California's ineffective parole system. Between January and May of
this year, parolees made up nearly two-thirds of the 57,000 people
admitted to California prisons. If the parole system worked more
effectively, California would not need all of the many thousands of
new prison beds Schwarzenegger is calling for.

The task force also recommends establishing a "Sentencing Policy
Commission." Reform of California's sentencing laws is essential, but
neither the Legislature nor the governor seems willing to take it on.
Establishing an objective sentencing commission, to be chaired by
California's chief justice, is the way to go.

Prison reform is an emotional issue. Various constituencies will have
different ideas about what should be done. The special session
Schwarzenegger has called provides an opportunity for all parties to
come together to shape a solution to a correctional crisis that can
no longer be ignored.

Our advice: Don't let cynicism about election-year politics get in
the way of getting something done.