MYTH: Prop 6 will fill our jails and prisons.
FACT: While California’s prison system is certainly impacted, compared to other states California is about in the middle when it comes to prison population according to a study by the very liberal Pew Institute.
What’s great about Proposition 6 is that it includes provisions to help the prison and county jail populations: It would allow counties that have population caps on jail populations – like LA, Fresno and Sacramento – to operate emergency jails for low-offending in-mates.
Proposition 6 takes great strides in providing meaningful prevention and intervention measures as well, such as funding GPS for gang members released from jail or prison.
Many counties are already using GPS – with great success – to monitor gang members. Not only does GPS allow law enforcement to know the whereabouts of gang members, it changes the behavior of the offender.
Napa County’s probation department is in the midst of testing GPS on a handful of juvenile offenders. Chief Probation Officer Mary Butler said the youths have now become law-abiding citizens; they are attending school and thus, have become the “most boring kids” in Napa County.
Butler also noted that GPS costs the county $8 per day versus about $80 a day in juvenile hall.
Proposition 6 also funds the Parolee Job Training and Mentoring Program, which provides workforce preparation and parolee mentoring to soon-to-be-released inmates.
The program finds employers and individuals who are willing to invest time and energy into the lives of parolees, to help them achieve success in society. The program is designed to provide job-readiness training, job placements and intensive follow-up. In addition, inmates are paired with mentors who offer advice and help them navigate daily issues like finding housing and transportation.
By supporting Proposition 6 in November, California voters will make this program a reality and in the process they will provide desperately needed hope for prison parolees and create an alternative to the constant cycle of crime that so many of these individuals experience. Proposition 6 is a win for all of us.