Draft

Little Hoover Commission

A key mission of the Little Hoover commission is to ensure law enforcement is adhered to by the government, as well as to recommend constitutional changes that would promote growth and development in states.

I agree that the correctional system in California is experiencing numerous challenges which need to be addressed. In general, prison settings and customs are essential to public health and safety. Nevertheless, prison life can be challenging because receiving a sentence can be upsetting, leading to mental health problems and even making reentering society difficult. There are many short- and long-term improvements that can considerably aid the penal system given the difficulties it is now facing, such as overcrowded prisons. Among the many measures that can be implemented to improve the correctional system in California include establishing a transforming prisons Act, supporting rehabilitative focus in prison, adopting more use of community sanctions, encouraging collaborations between correction agencies and researchers, and embracing rehabilitative or restorative community justice models.

Community justice is one strategy used by the correctional system to advance public health and safety objectives. Individuals going through a mental health crisis, family trauma, or substance abuse crisis may find refuge in these resources. Communities can benefit more from using social or public health services to intervene in these situations than from using the criminal justice system. Such diversion helps to lessen the strain of social work on the court system. In order to transform prisons and help people change, it is important to create a transforming prisons Act. This can entail creating funding options for state correctional agencies. This may make it possible for the application for funding to support creative initiatives and procedures that would enhance living and working circumstances for both inmates and staff members in prisons. This could make using the penal system for both parties a more fair and humane experience. The money may also be used to pay the salaries of the correctional employees working in the specialist jail units and the facilitators of training groups. Using the funds, people can also access parenting courses, family engagement seminars, and anger management programs to become more pro-social.

Another important strategy for improving the correctional system in California is encouraging rehabilitative focus in state prisons. Instead of focusing on incapacitation, prisons should focus on rehabilitation in response to calls to eliminate prisons and defund the police. Federal funding must be linked to accepting a rehabilitative mission to rehabilitate prisons for this to be successful. The focus of the transition must be on therapeutic programming that is supported by research, with results on inmates and employees being documented as well. Also, prison good-time standards need to be modified so that inmates can obtain significant credit for participating in demanding programming activities. State governments in the United States must be supported in putting creative concepts into practice to promote reintegration and alter prison organizational structures. Communities, families, and state budgets are becoming increasingly burdened by the costs of incarceration policies and practices, so California correctional systems need to encourage those who commit crimes to serve community sentences instead of incarceration sentences.

Moreover, collaborations between correction agencies and researchers should be encouraged. These two entities need to develop a positive working relationship in order to allow the study of innovative organizational techniques. Local researchers can work with law enforcement officers to come up with research projects that can benefit local criminal justice agencies and test innovative solutions to local issues. Consequently, researchers can support correctional agencies in defining research projects that can address prison issues and staff needs. As a result, they can aid in defining issues like prisoner grievance procedures, staff burnout, and staff retention.