Most California prisons lack the rehabilitation infrastructure that San Quentin has.
The first-ever orientation at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center last month revealed what California could do to reduce its prison population if state lawmakers approve budget cuts that would close dozens of facilities across the state.
The recent event, organized by People in Blue, a task force of inmates working to change the culture of California’s prison system, comes at a time when Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to close 46 housing units in 13 prisons to save an estimated $80 million a year.
About 3,000 people lined up to get into the gym and other areas, where they could meet with dozens of inmate carers and self-help group volunteers from the outside community, with the goal of taking a more active role in pursuing rehabilitation and healing.
“We need to have these opportunities more often for the young people who come in here,” said LL Romero, a corrections officer who works with the Last Mile Coding program. “It helps to have everyone involved and build communication, recognition, respect and interpersonal bonds. Change has to happen.”
The event was to promote TPIB’s so-called “Linear Rehabilitation Model” proposal, which was first presented to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation last fall.
“What many people don’t understand is that it is not mandatory to participate in rehabilitation programs while in prison,” said TPIB Chairman Arthur Jackson. “Inmates are not required to participate in any particular rehabilitation program, and they are not entitled to any particular program.”
In the organization’s rehabilitation plan, inmates enter the prison and meet with a mentor team that includes corrections officers, mental health workers and peer mentors. The team meets new inmates where they are and helps them develop goals to address trauma, drug use, gang affiliation and other issues before they are released.
“People in prison should be involved in rehabilitation,” Jackson said. “We should have a human right to rehabilitation and healing. We should create a visual roadmap to successful rehabilitation for each individual who enters prison.”
California’s criminal code states that “the purpose of incarceration is rehabilitation and the safe and smooth reintegration into society.”
CDCR’s core values, expressed in its strategic plan, include providing unique programmatic opportunities that empower inmates to change their lives and build a strong foundation when they re-enter society. This requires creating safe spaces where inmates can learn and grow.
Today’s political climate is a stark contrast to the 1990s, when Governor Pete Wilson enacted tough-on-crime laws that essentially turned California prisons into human warehouses. Prison populations peaked in 2006, basic services for inmates all but collapsed, and dangerous overcrowding left officers suffering from PTSD.
The population is currently 93,000, but is still too large to meet the rehabilitation needs of all prisoners statewide. To accomplish this mission, we must reduce the size of California’s prisons.
Most California prisons don’t have rehabilitation facilities like San Quentin, but if CDCR allowed police officers to sponsor and act as facilitators for inmates, it could provide a San Quentin-like experience in other prisons at no additional cost to taxpayers.
While closing 46 prison buildings may not result in significant short-term savings, strengthening rehabilitation programs will continue to reduce the inmate population and could ultimately lead to the closure of five more prisons, as recommended by the Legislative Analyst Service.
Currently, the cost of housing each inmate is $132,860 per year, and unless access to rehabilitation programs improves, these costs will continue to rise as inmates leave prison in the same condition they entered.
Steve Brooks is an award-winning inmate journalist who lives in San Quentin and works for the San Quentin News. He wrote this column for CalMatters.
