Cut the Fat, Not the Muscle - California Correctional Peace Officers ...

R E F O R M I N G C O R R E C T I O N S
Cut the fat, not the muscle.
While California’s inmate population has grown by less
than six percent since 2002, the Department of Corrections’
administrative bureaucracy has doubled. Billions of
dollars could be saved by streamlining operations, reducing
bureaucratic staff and eliminating waste and inefficiency
— without jeopardizing public safety or increasing the
dangers for prison officers and parole agents.
Specifically, we propose:
• Save nearly $1 billion by capping the cost of inmate
health care at a level equal to the per-patient cost of
MediCal coverage. Currently, California is spending
nearly twice the national average providing health care
for its prison inmates, which is significantly higher
than the cost of care being provided MediCal patients
outside the prison system. Using the standard of care
and cost established by MediCal would provide significant
savings for taxpayers while ensuring adequate
care for inmates.
• Save up to $500 million by trimming CDCR administrative
staff, which has ballooned by 400 new positions
in recent months and more than doubled two
of the department’s administrative divisions. Since
many of these positions are focused on planning for the
construction of prison facilities that will not be built
in the foreseeable future, they could easily be reduced
without jeopardizing prison safety or operations.
• Save $580,000 by directing the CDCR to end its lease
for office space in San Diego, which has sat vacant for
four years, and conduct a department wide audit to
identify other unused or under-utilized lease spaces.
To taxpayers, these empty offices are a symbol of government
waste at its very worst. Taking action would send
a powerful message to taxpayers that the Legislature is
serious about protecting their money.
• Save $5 billion by postponing the AB 900 prison
construction and parole programs not currently
in place. Given the state’s budget shortfall and the
precipitous decline in state revenues, delaying these
projects would be prudent.
• Save at least $50 million by discontinuing furlough
days in state prisons and other state jobs requiring
24/7 staffing. Doing so would eliminate the need
to pay overtime to the remaining officers, who are
required to cover for the furloughed officers. Paying
overtime is significantly more costly to taxpayers than
filling vacant officer positions.
• Save up to $30 million by filling the 500 to 1,000
correctional officer positions that remain vacant.
Currently, existing officers are being forced to work
overtime to cover these positions, which is far more
costly than hiring additional officers.

• Save potentially hundreds of millions of dollars
($20,000 per parolee) by embracing our past recommendation
to expand Drug Court, Mental Health
Court, Reentry Court and Revocation Court. Doing
so would dramatically reduce costly parole revocations
that send inmates back to prison. Without
adequate pre-release preparation and post-release
support, California’s recidivism rate will remain the
nation’s highest.
• Save $3.2 million by cancelling the Paroles Division’s
current contract with the Employment Development
Department, which has failed in its mission to help
paroled inmates find jobs.
• Conduct annual performance audits to determine
which parole and rehabilitation programs are achieving
their goals. Those that are working could then be expanded,
while ineffective programs could be eliminated.
Currently, this is an area of tremendous waste.
These are just some of our recommendations for reducing the
cost and improving the efficiency of California’s correctional
system. We look forward to working with you to find others
that will help the department succeed in its fundamental
mission — protecting the people of California.
• Save millions by no longer providing CDCR managers
and headquarters staff with state vehicles and mileage
allowances for commuting to work. Cars and mileage
allowances are currently being provided to about 1,000
department personnel.
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
755 Riverpoint Drive • West Sacramento, California 95605