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Criminal Justice Publications

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Handout

Homeland Security

March 1, 2005 - Presented to the Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 1 on February 28, 2005.

Report

State Needs Unified Strategic Approach to Homeland Security

February 24, 2005 - The state lacks a unified strategic approach to homeland security. The Office of Homeland Security and the Department of Health Services have not sufficiently coordinated their efforts. We make a number of recommendations to address these problems, including the development of a strategic plan and annual expenditure report.

Report

Proposition 69 (DNA) Request Overbudgeted

February 24, 2005 - The Governor’s budget includes funds for implementation of Proposition 69—DNA Collection—by the Departments of Justice, Corrections, and Youth Authority. While these departments will require funding to collect and process tens of thousands of additional DNA samples in 2005-06, our analysis indicates that the requests for Corrections and Youth Authority are overbudgeted by $3.5 million.

Report

State Could Save More on Foreign Prisoner Transfers

February 24, 2005 - The Foreign Prisoner Treaty Transfer program has the potential to reduce state incarceration costs by transferring inmates to their country of origin. Because of administrative issues, the state does not obtain the maximum benefit that could be achieved from this program. We offer recommendations for increasing the program’s use and state savings.

Report

Court Requires Further Improvements in Inmate Health Care

February 24, 2005 - In September 2004, a federal court issued an order requiring further improvements in CDC’s inmate health care delivery system. We believe the Governor’s budget year proposal is consistent with the court order. However, the state continues to face significant challenges in providing better access to quality health care for inmates, including attracting qualified health professionals to work in the prison system, and implementing a health information system that enables the department to oversee the delivery of health care. We recommend a number of modifications to the Governor’s budget proposal that would result in state General Fund savings.

Report

CDC Disciplinary Confinement Practices Need Improvement

February 24, 2005 - As a means of controlling prison violence, CDC has established several “disciplinary confinement” options, including administrative segregation and special housing units. Despite increasing use of such options, data show inmate assaults (and the associated state costs) continue to increase. Our examination identifies a number of shortcomings in the department’s disciplinary confinement policies and practices, and offers recommendations for improvement.

Report

Analysis of the 2005-06 Budget Bill, Judiciary and Criminal Justice Chapter

February 24, 2005 - Analysis of the 2005-06 Budget Bill, Judiciary and Criminal Justice Chapter

Report

A Review of the California Youth Authority’s Infrastructure

May 24, 2004 - The California Youth Authority is confronted with various challenges that call for a fresh examination of its facility needs: (1) an aging infrastructure with housing-related and other deficiencies; (2) demands for special facilities, as a result of state, federal, and court mandates to deliver mental health and education services to wards; and (3) facility overcapacity as a result of a significant decline in the ward population. Given these concerns, we believe that a fundamental reassessment of the department’s facilities—achieved through the development of a facilities master plan—could lead to a significant improvement in the way the department’s infrastructure needs are met.

Report

Corrections Overtime Expenditures

February 18, 2004 - Despite recent oversight and administrative efforts by the Legislature and the Department of Corrections (CDC), the department's overtime expenditures are expected to remain over $230 million in the current year. In this analysis, we provide background information on this issue, then an update on the current status of overtime, and finally recommendations for controlling departmental overtime.

Report

Elimination of Inspector General Not Justified

February 18, 2004 - The Governor has recently indicated that he plan's to withdraw the administration's budget proposal to eliminate the Office of the Inspector General. We think that eliminating the office would result in reduced oversight of California's correctional system. We recommend retaining the office, and offer suggestions for strengthening it.

Report

Evaluating The Status of Parole Reforms

February 18, 2004 - The 2003-04 Budget Act required the Department of Corrections to implement a number of parole reforms designed to reduce parolee recidivism, and save money. We find that the department is experiencing implementation delays which will reduce the savings from these reforms. To achieve greater savings, we recommend that the Legislature consider further expansion of programs designed to prevent returns to prison.

Report

Analysis of the 2004-05 Budget Bill, Judiciary and Criminal Justice Chapter

February 18, 2004 - Analysis of the 2004-05 Budget Bill, Judiciary and Criminal Justice Chapter

Report

Office of Criminal Justice Planning Shift

February 19, 2003 - Given the Office of Criminal Justice Planning's (OCJP's) poor performance in the administration of its programs, and the significant overlap of its mission and programs with those of other departments, we recommend that OCJP programs be shifted to other departments.

Report

Work Credits

February 19, 2003 - Inmates who are being processed in the reception centers or who are unassigned to a full-time work or education program due to a shortage of slots earn less than the maximum level of work credits. We recommend enactment of legislation allowing these inmates to earn day-for-day work credit instead of the one-day-for-two-days participation they currently earn thereby saving the state $70 million while reducing the sentence of approximately 29,000 inmates by only 27 days.

Report

Early Release of Elderly Inmates

February 19, 2003 - Elderly inmates are two to three times as costly to incarcerate in state prison as younger inmates. Yet, research shows they are less likely to reoffend and have greater success on parole. For these reasons, we recommend the Legislature adopt legislation requiring that nonviolent elderly inmates be released early to parole.

Criminal Justice Staff

Anita Lee
(916) 319-8321
Courts, Department of Justice, Gambling
 
Caitlin O'Neil
(916) 319-8351
State Prisons, County Jails, Sentencing
 
Jared Sippel
(916) 319-8335
Emergency Services and Business Regulation
 
Orlando Sanchez Zavala
(916) 319-8307
Correctional Health Care, Rehabilitation Programs, Juvenile Justice, Community Corrections
 
Drew Soderborg
(916) 319-8346
Deputy Legislative Analyst: Public Safety and Business Regulation