It was in December, 2006, that an L.A. Times news article criticized the massive overtime charges submitted by prison guards because of prison overcrowding. At that time 174,000 felons were incarcerated in 33 prisons designed to hold 100,000 inmates. Currently, by order of a federal judicial mandate, California must release 30,000 of these inmates within the next two years, and it appears various counties are willing to accept these prisoners. Assuming California's inmate overpopulation is still 74,000, and not higher, one wonders how releasing 30,000 inmates solves this problem?
Governor Schwarzenegger, in his State of the State address in January 2010, compared California's $50,000 per inmate, per year cost, to other states which average $32,000 and Texas, which houses almost as many felons as California, but spends less than a third as much on its system. So why not negotiate a deal with Texas to house our excess prisoners and save nearly $30,000. per inmate? That's 74,000 times $30,000 would equal $2.2 billion in savings for our state which has a huge financial deficit. Moreover, this would reduce California's excessive prison overtime pay for additional savings.
The fact a judicial panel had to order the release of prison inmates due to dangerous overcrowding conditions begs the question: "Who is in charge of our prisons?" And why didn't prison management take care of this problem without federal intervention? This episode is similar to the inmate medical problems which went untreated resulting in litigation and immense health care costs which are also dictated by a federal judge.
According to government salary data the controller's office released (July 5, 2011) doctors, dentists and psychiatrists with the federal receiver's office overseeing inmate medical care are the highest paid state employees in California. Two prison doctors make more than $700,000 a year with several dozen topping $300,000 per year.
According to Jack Dolan (LA Times - March 4, 2011 news article) there is a semi-paralyzed inmate (Edward Ortiz) hospitalized in a S.F. bay area room with a breathing tube in his throat - tethered to a ventilator and steel shackles on his ankles with two round the clock guards to prevent his escape and a sergeant to supervise this fiasco. Even if he could, why would this prisoner decide to flee? And yet California taxpayers are shelling out $800,000 per year for guard duty. But he is not alone, there are 25 "permanently" medically incapacitated inmates being treated at outside hospitals at a cost greater than $50 million and, of that, some $19 to $21 million is for guards' salaries, benefits and overtime.
Monterey County has its own prison related boondoggle. We - that is California Taxpayers, for the past two years - have been paying $35,000. per month to house sex offender Mr. James Lamb in our County (because he came from here), with round the clock protection, rent, utilities, food allowance, two personal aides, psychiatric counseling etc., etc. at a cost of more than $420,000. per year - and Monterey County is not alone with respect to this program.
Clearly, California's prison system is out of control. Accepting so-called "low level" felons locally to satisfy a judicial mandate is not a solution; in fact, it isn't even a good start! Possibly, this state should consider bringing in prison administration officials from Texas to solve California's mess.