California prisoners form union, statewide representation

Sacramento, CA. In an historic turn of events California’s prisoners and parolees have formed their own union. Under the auspices of Voters Corrections Reform Coalition the membership of this statewide organization has voted nearly nine to one in favor of the formation.

At $5 per month per member, the target is a $78 million per year budget to educate voters and influence public policy. Presently 1 in every 116 Californians is either incarcerated or on parole and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections. Most of those 308,700 inmates, parolees, and wards have several family members who are also permitted to join the union and contribute dues.

“We opened up membership to the 1.5 million inmates and family members because they remain the least represented and most oppressed segment of our population,” says Matt Gray, a Lobbyist for VCRC. “Together we hope to provide meaningful reform and rehabilitation within a malignant correctional system, while also funding prevention and intervention programs for our youth.”

Buzz words like “rehabilitation” are popular right now, but what about those who were never “habilitated” to begin with? Having a parent in prison remains a significant influence in that youth’s life and seems to increase the likelihood of that youth getting into trouble with the law. For many of these children the absence of role models or mentors in their lives may play a pivotal role in their chances for later success, and these youth remain an important part to the public safety equation.

Not surprisingly many adult and youth offenders admit they don’t like where they now are in life or how they got to be there; and very few had what they consider to be a healthy childhood. In many cases a perceived trauma is often attributed to overwhelming feelings of inopportunity, unresolved rage, or an insufficient knowledge base to set realistic goals and strive for a healthier outcome.

The goal is to break the cycle of both victims and offenders. If we prevent the crime altogether then we have no victim, no loss, no harm done. Yet year after year Legislators introduce measures which only increase penalties and serve up more punishment – after the fact.. Few laws are passed to provide rehabilitation and with the current prison rehabilitative budget slated to be slashed by $95 million, the Governor’s reorganization plan is expected to do little to improve upon public safety.

Lock ‘em up and throw away the key does not work any more; and we will just keep increasing our taxes to pay for it all. According to renowned Criminologist Dr. James Q. Wilson, of Pepperdine University in Malibu, stiffer sentences no longer work for California because we have reached the threshold of "diminishing returns" on our penal investment. According to his book, “Crime and Public Policy,” that means we can keep losing money on investing in punishment or find more constructive ways to spend out tax dollars to provide improved public safety.

"With 95% of our inmates eventually being released, and now that society has advanced such that our cars have cup-holders, perhaps our prisons can even become schools,” says Gray. “I’d rather have an educated and employable parolee move into the neighborhood than an angry one with no skills.”

Voters Corrections Reform Coalition can be found online at www.CorrectionsReform.com or by writing to VCRC, P.O. Box 255456, Sacramento, CA 95865.