The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation seeks to enact permanent changes to regulations that would result in the early release of thousands of violent offenders and “non-violent second strikers”.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan is among 44 other DA’s across the state who filed a civil lawsuit last May challenging the use of conduct credits aimed to shorten an inmate's time in prison during COVID-19, and minimize inmate capacity in prisons. DA Stephan is alerting the San Diego County community at large about the potential permanent change.
Violent offenders could have their conduct credit rate increased from 20 percent to 33 percent, while “non-violent second strikers” could see an increase from 50 percent to 66 percent. The CDCR characterizes “non-violent” offenses include offenders who were convicted of human trafficking, domestic violence, and those who have dangerous criminal histories of armed robberies and attempted murder.
“Releasing inmates early who have committed atrocious crimes after only serving a fraction of their sentence threatens the safety of our communities and is a slap in the face to crime victims who are still suffering,” DA Stephan said. “Extending additional credits to inmates with serious and violent criminal histories is not in the interest of justice or the public’s safety. When a judge who hears the evidence and considers the impact on victims hands down a sentence, that sentence should stand and not be altered after the fact except by credits currently provided for under the law.".
The CDCR seeks to reduce sentences already imposed by using credits awards on those sentences. According to DA Stephan, these regulations had been in place for 10 months as “emergency measures”, but lack public participation in the policy.
The CDCR is required to hold a public comment period, which will be held on April 13, before the regulations become permanent. The hearing is to receive comments about the regulations, not a forum to debate, according to the CDCR.
No decision about the permanent adoption of regulations would be made at the hearing.
The public will be able to dial in a teleconference on April 14 at 10 a.m. Those who wish to participate may call 1-877-411-9748 (TTY/TDD: Dial 711). When prompted, enter participant code 6032676.
The CDCR may impose a time limitation of three minutes of oral presentations under the law to allow everyone’s participation.
Any person may submit written comments about the proposed regulations by e-mail to RPMB@cdcr.ca.gov or by mail to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001.
Written comments must be received or postmarked no later than April 13, 2022. All written comments must include the rule number, NCR 22-03, OAL Notice File No. Z2022-0215-10
