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California must reduce inmate numbers to achieve budget savings

Proposals to cut prison costs in the face of a massive budget crisis generated blowback for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week after he suggested releasing some inmates from the state's bloated lockups to save money and comply with federal court mandates.So what was the solution? Cut the corrections budget total by $1.2 billion overall and put off decisions where to cut until lawmakers leave town.Nobody without a crystal ball can know exactly how those $1.2 billion in cuts will be realized, but a glimpse at current official thinking may be had by reading a column on California's Flash Report by the Secretary of California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Matthew Cate. He believes his agency can "achieve our budget cut targets without the early release that the public has feared," suggesting a slew of proposals aimed at reducing inmate populations in the near term...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on July 27, 2009 (boomark / email).