Prisoner Dumping

By Carl Hilliard

The State of California calls it Realignment. Carl Hilliard Calls it Prisoner Dumping and He has a Four-Point Plan to Tackle the Issue.

"We would fail the citizens of our community and the victims of crime to follow the state's example and dump prisoners who have no jobs, are hooked on drugs, mentally ill, likely not rehabilitated and equally likely to commit another crime onto our streets," says Hilliard.

Beginning last October, state prisons began moving "non-non-non" (non-serious, non-sexual, non-violent) offenders into county jails, the county probation system and county courts. To date San Diego County has received approximately 1,000 former state prisoners. By summer that number is expected to reach 6,000, including prisoners with the highest maintenance costs + those with medical problems and mental health issues, as well as prisoners with prior histories of violent crimes who are serving sentences for lesser offenses.

It's anticipated that the state's realignment solution will cost San Diego County $100 million in the first year alone, a burden that rests squarely on the shoulders of county taxpayers.

"Get Sacramento out of the way," says Hilliard, "and we will do a better job of handling the costs without jeopardizing public safety. Here's what we need to do."

1. Return exclusive control over property tax to local governments. Put an end to mandates, funded or not, as well. We can manage our revenues if they are not required to control the state's overspending.

2. Give local governments exclusive control of funds for county courts. The state's financial problems have spilled over into county court budgets to the point where courtrooms are closed and offenders cannot be prosecuted. We're in a better position locally to make our communities safer by dealing with core issues like mental illness, drug addiction and rehabilitation through resident drug-treatment programs, split sentences and other means.

3. Use validated risk assessment to manage the jail population. With the right tools, like a certified risk-assessment program and electronic monitoring, along with mandatory participation in substance-abuse programs and community-based service counseling, the county can identify prisoners who could be released without harm to the community, rather than occupying a jail cell until bail can be posted.

4. Release low-risk prisoners with electronic monitoring instead of building more jails. Accommodating a growing population of low-risk offenders by building more jails does more to increase maintenance and staffing costs, and create a significant long-term financial burden for taxpayers, than it does to rehabilitate. Let's consider an alternative, such as the housing and reentry program for female prisoners currently in use. The success rate for this program is a remarkable 78 percent. Just as important, the program's cost is far less than the cost for incarceration. An electronic monitoring system rings up at $2.50 a day, a minuscule amount compared to the $50 per day tab for incarceration.

Hilliard's track record of fiscal responsibility and community advocacy have earned him campaign endorsements from people like retired San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender who cited Hilliard's experience, public service and no-nonsense approach as being essential to the county.

For more information about the two-term Del Mar mayor, successful businessman, America's free 911-cell phone call champion and protector of Prop 13, visit http://www.hilliardforsupervisor2012.com.