tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post701917181678216628..comments2024-02-28T05:56:28.293-08:00Comments on California Correctional Crisis: Humonetarianism in Cuts: Voters Concede to Prison and Park CutsHadar Aviramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-63247110638382830092010-03-25T13:18:08.200-07:002010-03-25T13:18:08.200-07:00"it's somewhat unfair to expect the publi..."it's somewhat unfair to expect the public to exhibit knowledge"<br /><br />Unfair, and dangerous. Even foolish. I've never been a "power to the people" kind of guy. This is primarily because I know a lot of people and in general find that more often than not, empowering them would do more harm than good, both in general and on criminal justice particularly. "The people" want more services and less taxes, but that doesn't mean it's wise or even possible. Ditto for those who want to "lock em up and throw away the key." We're past the point where that's a credible position. Texas releases about 75,000 prisoners per year!<br /><br />I hope some of the CA reform groups (or you academic types) are busy preparing alternative cuts to propose (that include investments in community supervision, if you follow models from other states). This is a golden, Golden State opportunity but somebody has to make it happen politically on the ground or the institutional players will push to protect all the prisons and cut all the treatment and probation programs, which is the opposite of what should happen.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-73777214652255691682010-03-25T12:42:03.777-07:002010-03-25T12:42:03.777-07:00Very true, Scott. Which is partly why the initiati...Very true, Scott. Which is partly why the initiative process is particularly harmful to budgeting. Budgeting corrections is such a complicated task, involving long-term considerations, that it's somewhat unfair to expect the public to exhibit knowledge.Hadar Aviramhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15200780666976305749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8107037609455779557.post-72798207645452711342010-03-25T11:49:54.721-07:002010-03-25T11:49:54.721-07:00Speaking as somebody who's tried a couple of t...Speaking as somebody who's tried a couple of times to poll on these topics in the past, I can tell you the public doesn't know. They're hoping somebody, somewhere is educated enough on the details to cut smartly, and they sense generally that the recent prison buildup was not money well spent, but average voters cannot talk details. Most, if asked, likely could not correctly distinguish probation from parole.<br /><br />Look at California corrections spending overall: If it's like Texas, 80%+ goes to prisons, so that's where cuts must primarily come from to affect most of the budget. Moreover, as a functional matter, to cut prison spending one must actually INCREASE community supervision spending for the offenders who are either released early or diverted on the front end. So some types of (cheaper) spending on supervision must be <i>increased</i> - to create intermediate sanctions facilities, intensive-supervision probation caseloads, etc. - in order to safely cut prison budgets overall. But it's up to the wonks and numbercrunchers to figure out how to do that smartly. The public is uneducated about the details and they can't be reasonably worked out through opinion polls.Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.com