Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined law enforcement officials from across the state and Republican legislators to warn of the dangers that early release of felons or a prison population cap could have on California communities. Standing with public safety officials who have or will petition to be a part of the case, the Governor pointed out the consequences of releasing criminals into our communities before they have served their sentence and urged the panel to give prison reform time to work.

“We must be given adequate time for our prison reform package to work. Earlier this year I worked with members of the Legislature to develop a comprehensive prison reform package to ensure dangerous criminals are kept behind bars and that our rehabilitation programs are effective in reducing recidivism,” said Governor Schwarzenegger.

In July, a three-judge panel was formed based on motions granted in prison medical care and mental health care cases by two judges. In the coming months, this panel will hear evidence related to prison overcrowding and health care, the result of which could be an order for the early release of thousands of dangerous criminals into our communities or a population cap that would prevent prisons from housing convicted criminals.

“AB 900 attacks our recidivism rate, which is the highest in the nation, by bringing rehabilitation back to our prison system. This will protect the public because inmates who are committed to turning their lives around will have more opportunities when their terms end,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Much of that rehabilitation will be done in the secure re-entry facilities we are building in partnership with California communities.”

More than 20 counties have expressed interest in a secure re-entry facility to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation because they know that community-based rehabilitation will make their streets and neighborhoods safer.

Along with enhanced guidelines that will allow parole agents to focus on the most dangerous offenders, the reforms in AB 900 will ensure parolees are properly supervised and get the right help to live crime-free.

In May, the Governor signed a historic measure to help reform California’s overburdened correctional system. AB 900, also known as the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, provides $7.7 billion to add 53,000 prison and jail beds in two phases and fundamentally shift how the CDCR approaches rehabilitation for California’s prisoners. AB 900 funds 16,000 beds in Secure Re-Entry Facilities, small and secure centers that provide offenders with job training, mental health and substance abuse counseling, housing placement, and other programs in the critical few months just prior to their release.

More information on AB 900 and prison reform is available at: http://gov.ca.gov/prisonreform/.