MORE ON: prisons

Daily Report: Public Safety

Program fails to stem flow of cell phones into prisons

April 22, 2011, 12:05 AM
A two-year operation to intercept cell phones being smuggled into state prisons by employees has produced modest results and done little to stem the flow of contraband devices to inmates, according to state data. Since 2009, authorities have seized 432 unauthorized cell phones from employees... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

State's lethal injection drug passes lab tests

April 11, 2011, 12:05 AM
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s supply of a key lethal injection drug is lab-certified as sterile and sufficiently potent. Prison officials sent off a share of their sodium thiopental for testing in January to confirm the drug was manufactured properly. The... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

With prison ‘realignment’ looming, sheriffs look for money, space

April 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
Fresno County’s jail has whole floors of empty cells. When AB 109 takes effect, moving tens of thousands of inmates from state prisons to local facilities, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said her office has plenty of bed space to accommodate. But Mims and California’s... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

To get funds, wrongly convicted man must re-prove innocence

March 30, 2011, 12:05 AM
An Orange County man wrongfully convicted of assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon must prove his innocence anew to receive compensation for the five years he spent in prison. The California Attorney General’s Office is contesting Ernest Benefiel’s claim for $188,000 from... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

State to keep some youth correctional facilities open

March 23, 2011, 4:37 PM
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature have agreed to keep open some state youth correctional facilities, taking some of the gloss off his vision of "bringing government closer to the people."  Hear more on a KQED/California Watch radio report aired on The California Report... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

State lawmakers up the stakes in battle over prison cell phones

March 22, 2011, 12:06 AM
State lawmakers are making another push to get rid of contraband cell phones in prisons at a time when corrections officials describe the situation as “untenable” and a major threat to public safety. The Senate Public Safety Committee today will discuss a bill – known as SB... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Wrongly imprisoned OC man waits for compensation hearing

March 15, 2011, 12:06 AM
Ernest Benefiel was wrongfully convicted twice for the same crime and spent more than five years imprisoned. Worse than that, the crime (assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon) prosecutors and juries in Orange County said he committed never technically took place. Released from... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Brown's plan to shut down youth correctional facilities derailed

March 14, 2011, 1:05 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown's grand vision of "bringing government closer to the people" has run into a snag – at least when it comes to the state's youth correctional system.  If his plan had gone through, California would have been the first state in the country to abolish... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Officials to overhaul prison education amid complaints

March 14, 2011, 12:05 AM
State officials are moving to revamp educational classes in prisons across California following widespread complaints that the programs are poorly designed and could leave some inmates ill-prepared for life after release. A draft report released last week by the California Rehabilitation... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Smuggled cell phone problem at prison overblown, officials say

March 3, 2011, 12:06 AM
Late last year then-Attorney General Jerry Brown scolded the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the surge in smuggled cell phones getting into the hands of violent inmates. “For a $9 billion expenditure, that’s a failure we can’t tolerate,” Brown... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Lawmakers moved to shrink prisoner counts last year

February 23, 2011, 12:05 AM
California was among 23 states that approved legislative measures last year to reduce the number of people in their prisons. The legislation enacted here was small in scope, but nonetheless part of a national trend, according to a new report [PDF] by The Sentencing Project, an organization... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Fresno County early inmate release a preview for state?

February 18, 2011, 12:05 AM
In Fresno County, the financial crisis caused deep budget cuts at the sheriff’s office. The sheriff laid off corrections officers and reduced the number of jail inmates. And now, some argue, auto thefts are on the rise because there are more criminals on the streets. While this... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

After 18 years, Pelican Bay prison abuse case to close

February 10, 2011, 12:05 AM
A long-running legal action that exposed widespread abuses at the state’s highest security prison and forced major reforms within California's department of corrections is drawing to a close. In the coming days, federal District Judge Thelton Henderson is expected to terminate... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

Budget cuts could send young offenders to adult prisons

January 20, 2011, 12:07 AM
Gov. Jerry Brown’s bid to abolish the state youth prison system could save hundreds of millions of dollars and quicken the pace of reform at county facilities. But the changes could remove important barriers that keep some juvenile offenders out of adult prisons. Brown’s plan to... + read more
Daily Report: Public Safety

State auditor: Lingering prison probe wasted $366,000

January 19, 2011, 12:05 AM
The California Department of Corrections allowed a prison psychiatrist to continue to treat patients for four months after allegations of incompetence surfaced and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary during its three-year misconduct probe, according to the state auditor. The case... + read more
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