FEWER CALIFORNIA PAROLE VIOLATORS BEING SENT BACK TO JAIL

Rehab Option Helps Cut Overcrowding

SACRAMENTO - Prison officials in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's
administration acknowledged Thursday that some parole violators are no
longer being sent back to prison - part of a philosophical shift that
will reduce overcrowding in the state's prisons.

The state's parole chief insisted that most of those being given a
second chance are not violent offenders, but the notion that an
increasing number of parolees are getting a break rankles some
tough-on-crime advocates and conservative lawmakers.

Nearly 10,000 more parolees are on the streets today than last July,
according to the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation - an 8.4 percent increase that far outpaces the growth
in the prison population, which was just 0.6 per cent over that same
time.

When asked about those numbers, administration officials acknowledged
Thursday that, indeed, parole agents are directing more parolees into
rehabilitation programs instead of prisons, particularly for minor
violations that used to keep them locked up for months.

The change in direction - hailed by parole-reform advocates and
criminal defense attorneys - occurred quietly at a time when federal
judges are threatening to impose a population cap for the state's
prison system. Currently, 173,000 inmates are packed into space built
for 100,000.

Recidivism Rate

Criminal justice experts said California's tougher parole standards
contribute to its having the highest recidivism rate in the nation.
The policy shift should bring the state more in line with the rest of
nation.

Thomas Hoffman, head of the prison system's adult parole division,
couldn't readily provide statistics to determine the criminal history
of parolees, but he said most were "non-violent, non-serious offenders."

The change, he said, is part of a broader "philosophical, cultural,
social change" sweeping through the corrections department.

"We've got a system that obviously isn't working," Hoffman said, "and
now the struggle is what is the solution, and I think we're working
through that as a state, and still got a long way to go."

Last month, the state's rehabilitation oversight board suggested that
a policy shift on parolees was warranted, but the numbers suggest that
parole commissioners had already stopped sending some parole violators
back to prison. The parolee population has jumped to 127,151 from
117,354 over the past year.

"The numbers are shocking, and I think it's scary for any law-abiding
citizen," said Sen. Jeffrey Denham, R-Modesto. "We shouldn't be
focused on clearing bed space; we should be worried about enforcing
the law and making more bed space for those that are continuing to
prey on our citizens."

All inmates released from prison are automatically placed on parole,
meaning they must abide by certain restrictions and remain under the
supervision of a parole agent for at least a year, or face going back
to prison. Studies have shown that about seven in 10 inmates released
from California prisons will return to the system within two years -
the highest recidivism rate of any state.

Parolees most likely to receive second chances, Hoffman said, are
those who break rules known as technical violations, such as failing
to attend a class for men found guilty of domestic violence, or
skipping a routine meeting with a parole officer.

"This isn't soft on crime," Hoffman said. "It's smart on
crime."

Nearly two-thirds of parolees are sent back to prison for technical
violations, according to criminology experts Robert Weisberg and Joan
Petersilia.

Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, a former prosecutor who chairs a
prison construction committee, said it was too early to judge the
effect on the public's safety until the types of violations that are
keeping parolees from prison are analyzed.

"As long as it's truly technical, I'm not going to flip out about it,"
Spitzer said. "But if they're using the term 'technical violation' to
encompass all parole violations, including violations of the law, I'm
going to have a real problem with that."

'Claiming Victory'

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, a proponent of parole and
sentencing reform, doubted the administration was succeeding in
solving overcrowding.

"So they've got more people in prison, and more people on parole than
last year, and they're claiming victory?" she said. "I think they've
got to keep working on it. I don't think they've got it solved yet."

The state's shift doesn't surprise experts who study crime and
punishment.

"The rate of admissions in California is driven dramatically by parole
revocations, so all you need to do is change policies slightly, and
then you would start seeing a decrease or a lessening of the increase
in the prison population," said Christy Visher, a principal research
associate at the Justice Policy Center, which is part of the Urban
Institute in Washington, D.C.

Adding Jail Beds

Schwarzenegger is a firm believer in recently enacted legislation, AB
900, which promises to build tens of thousands of prison and jail
beds, and tie them to rehabilitation programs. And he has stated
repeatedly that he will not release violent inmates from prison.

His administration also is pleading with the federal court to not
impose a prison population cap but instead allow the state to solve
the overcrowding crisis through a number of measures, including
rehabilitation of inmates who are addicted to drugs.

Parolees and their advocates are pleased with the change in
direction.

"Public safety is a byproduct of having more safe, and less dangerous,
people on the street," said Jeff Stein, a San Luis Obispo defense
lawyer and leader with the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
"There is no correlation that more time means more safety, so more
thoughtfulness in corrections means more safety."

The shift also was well received by parolees attending a mandatory,
state-run meeting in Oakland this week, for those who were freed from
prison in recent days.

Wilbert Winchester, 50, has been in and out of prison for 27 years,
often on parole violations. He has enrolled in a substance-abuse
treatment program and the fact that he was being paroled at a time
when the state says it's emphasizing rehabilitation - and keeping
parolees from re-entering prison - wasn't lost on him.

"I see a little hope there."