Drug Offenders Being Released in California

Reducing the prison population and giving people some support when they get out. It's aggressive and California will reduce the prison population immediately without throwing people out on the streets.

Thousands of California inmates serving time for drug offenses will soon enjoy an early release from prison, followed by a chance to cut their parole time down from three years to just 150 days.

A Senate bill that became law Jan. 1 mandates that non-violent offenders complete a 90-day drug rehabilitation plan while in prison, then immediately parole into a closely supervised five-month residential drug program on the outside.

"After that, they are completely off parole," said Robert Story, a senior parole agent from Folsom.

The intent of the law, authored by former state Sen. Jackie Spier, is to alleviate prison overcrowding and cut down on recidivism — the rate at which released offenders return to prison for committing new crimes.

According to statistics from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state experienced a 44 percent increase in recidivism between 1991 and 2001.

Story currently works for the Division of Addiction and Recovery Services, a newly formed state agency that has taken over drug rehabilitation programs administred during incarceration, and immedately after release.

He said the division is already screening low-risk inmates for eligibility in the accelerated parole program. A target date of April 1 has been set to have the first wave of inmates released and enrolled in a residential setting, Story said.

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