Supervisor Wilson, Sheriff Sniff Endorse Anti-Recidivism Plan
A plan by a group of distinguished and experienced Californians—including former State Senator Robert Presley—have produced a proposal for a comprehensive plan to reduce recidivism in Riverside County.
Now, that plan has been officially endorsed by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson and Sheriff Stan Sniff successfully requested that the board authorize Chairman Jeff Stone (Third District) to send a letter of support for the Presley plan to state corrections officials.
The heart of the program is a three-pronged approach to reduce the revolving door of recidivism, thereby reducing jail and prison overcrowding, and turning “tax users into tax payers.”
The first “prong” is establishment of a “Community Education and Employment Training Service Center,” or “CEETSC,” which parolees would enroll in voluntarily in order to receive vocation and academic training and for social and family services. The goal here is to enable parolees to get a job with a living wage, which in turn gives them a chance to avoid committing another crime.
Secondly, a “Parolee Day Reporting Center,” or “PDRC,” would be established. Unlike the CEETSC, attendance is mandatory for selected parolees whose Parole Agents feel are in imminent risk of recidivism. The PDRC is located at the same site as the CEETSC.
The final piece of this comprehensive plan is the “Inside-Outside” program. Inmates are taught basic skills while they are still incarcerated . . . and that education continues seamlessly once they are paroled.
The program would be funded from state legislation in 2007 which provided nearly $8 billion to build prison facilities and to promote rehabilitation programs. With the state’s current budget woes, however, accessing that funding may be difficult.
Presley, a former Riverside County Undersheriff, state senator and retired Secretary of the California Youth and Adult Correction Agency, says once the Riverside County model is refined, it can be replicated statewide.
For more information on the program, refer to the Board’s Agenda Item from June 30, 2009: http://www.clerkoftheboard.co.riverside.ca.us/agendas/2009/06_30_09/03.82.pdf.