As of recent events, an ex-critic now heads the California Prison System. Jeffrey Beard was appointed by Governor Brown as secretary of the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 4 years after testifying in Federal Court about the dangers of California’s overcrowded prisons.
Beard is singing a different tune these days. He says that conditions have improved in the prisons so much over the past 4 years that the inmate population numbers he previously thought satisfactory are no longer necessary. There are currently 46,000 fewer inmates in California Prisons than there were in 2006.
The reduction in prison inmates was primarily accomplished via Governor Brown’s plan to incarcerate lower-level offenders in county jails instead of state prisons.
The program began in 2011 and has, thus far, helped to reduce the dangerously overcrowded state of California’s Prisons. It should be noted, however, that even at the current levels the state prisons are still over the recommended capacity by about 10,000 inmates.
Aside from lowering the number of inmates held at the state prison level, billions of dollars have been spent to improve the quality of the healthcare inmates receive, as well as relevant facilities. Under court order, The State has hired more doctors, nurses and taken steps to improve the care of mentally, as well as physically, ill patients in prisons throughout The State.
Not everyone is as pleased with California’s progress as the newly appointed secretary, however. Attorney’s who are heading the lawsuit against the state contend that significant hurdles still remain in order to bring the state prison system up to par.
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