Advocates for overhauling the corrections system are asking California officials to look at alternatives to incarceration as they consider how best to use bond revenue meant to reduce prison overcrowding.
About $500 million in bond money will come available in the New Year to counties for jail facility upgrades and expansion. Mary Sutton with Californians United for a Responsible Budget said counties should focus on crime prevention.
“There’s plenty of money through realignment to invest in programming, services, housing, jobs, youth centers, rehabilitation, detox centers.”
California is under federal order to reduce its prison population by 9,000. An Assembly committee has held a series of hearings on reducing recidivism.
“It’s almost become cliché that we spend more money on prisons than we do on schools and I think that is finally registering with the public,” Assemblymember Tom Ammiano. said
Ammiano and Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer will hold their next select committee hearing January in Los Angeles.
