PROGRAMS, NOT PRISONS

I am writing in support of Sen. Richard Rainey, R-Walnut Creek, and Sen.
Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward, who each have bills pending in the Legislature to
reform the way the state now handles non-violent inmates.

People are asking that our cities be made safer. Crime rates will not
decrease with the judicial system as it is.

The real problem is 80 percent of inmates are substance abusers (alcohol,
crack, heroin, and so on). The system is a revolving door for repeat
offenders.

The state prison population has grown by an outrageous 555 percent since 1980.

Released inmates return to the life they once knew -- no job, money, or
support system. They do not stay clean and sober, hence the "revolving
door."

We do not need more prisons. We need more community-based programs, such as
drug-treatment facilities and work programs.

Overcrowding is allowing violent, dangerous felons to be released early. An
example would be releasing a child-molester to make room for a non-violent
drug user.

Get these substance abusers in programs and turn their lives around.

Help them become productive, stable, tax-paying, law-abiding citizens.

Write your governor and legislators. Don't spend our tax dollars building
more prisons. Stop the revolving door.

Sandra Caves-Gonzales
Hercules