The Republican Party of Riverside County

By Senator John J. Benoit

Last week, a federal three-judge panel ordered that California must release 40,000 inmates over the next two years. The panel, previously citing that the level of care violated inmates’ constitutional rights, has given the State 45 days to develop a plan to release these prisoners. Up to 2,500 convicted felons could soon be released onto Riverside County streets.

As a 31-year law enforcement veteran, I can say from experience that unleashing tens of thousands of prisoners into our communities is a horrible way to accomplish anything except higher crime rates. These criminals have already demonstrated that they cannot abide by the laws that govern society.

My interview with KESQ’s Nathan Baca. This local interview ran nationally on CNN.
The overcrowding figure is a gross exaggeration that early-release advocates arrive at by referring to “design-capacity,” which is one inmate per cell. Many prisoners are housed two to a cell quite humanely and comfortably.

All of this arrives during a month the Legislature is scheduled to cut $1.2 billion out of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation budget in order to implement the recently wrapped-up budget negotiations.

As Vice Chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee, I don’t believe this court ruling is acceptable. Let’s explore all the options in our command, starting with construction of additional jail cells that were earlier authorized for State bond funds.

I have also been a steady champion for a billion dollars in funding from the federal government to pay its full share of the cost to incarcerate illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. In case you missed it, my efforts were highlighted in a previous Special Alert. Ironically, the same federal government responsible for 15% of our prison population has now ruled that California has an overcrowding problem.