SACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 As California\u2019s prison population continues to decline, correctional spending is moving in the opposite direction, prompting renewed criticism from advocates who argue the state is paying more to incarcerate fewer people.<\/p>\n
In an opinion article published by the Orange County Register, Brian Kaneda, deputy director of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), argues that Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s May budget revision reflects a major issue within California\u2019s prison system as correctional costs continue to rise despite the state\u2019s decline in the number of incarcerated individuals.<\/p>\n
According to the Orange County Register, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation would receive nearly $1 billion more than last year\u2019s enacted budget, even though California\u2019s prison population has decreased by roughly 70,000 people since 2010.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the 2024 Budget Act expected CDCR to save $392 million annually. However, the department delivered less than half of that amount. The Orange County Register writes that \u201cCDCR promises savings, the savings shrink, and the department\u2019s budget keeps growing.\u201d<\/p>\n
To combat these budget problems, CURB has been pushing for prison closures as a way to implement cost-saving strategies. According to the Orange County Register, CDCR spent $90 million during the first year of Deuel Vocational Institution\u2019s closure and $20 million annually to maintain it as an empty facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year California waits, empty prisons keep generating bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
The article explains how prison closures have become the most effective way for California to reduce long-term correctional spending. The state\u2019s completed and planned prison closures are expected to save around $594 million annually by 2027-28, while during the same period closures and deactivations could generate almost $4.9 billion in cumulative savings.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome argue California should focus less on prison closure and more on crime prevention. But those are not competing goals. Incarceration is extraordinarily expensive.\u201d<\/p>\n
On average, it costs California $127,000 annually per incarcerated individual. Meanwhile, diversion and treatment programs have demonstrated positive results, including a Los Angeles County Rapid Diversion Program in which around 91% of participants were able to avoid new criminal cases after graduation.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, recent crime statistics from the Public Policy Institute of California show that violent crime and property crime rates actually declined in 2024. As a result of this decline, the Orange County Register argues that these trends weaken the justification for maintaining thousands of unused prison beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaying for prison capacity the state no longer needs does not prevent harm. Funding the things that actually stabilize communities will. Those programs lose out when closure savings are absorbed back into CDCR,\u201d the article states.<\/p>\n
The Orange County Register concludes by urging lawmakers to approve at least one additional prison closure in the final state budget. The article points out that the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad could be a possible candidate for closure, which could save around $150 million annually and avoid around $379 million in repair costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCDCR keeps missing its saving targets, and the state keeps increasing its budget anyway. California cannot keep spending more to run a smaller prison system and avoid spending more to run a smaller prison system and call that a responsible budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
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