Capitol Alert
Defund the police? Some California Democrats ready to close state prisons
Amid national protests over killings of unarmed black Americans and calls to “defund the police,” California Democrats said Tuesday the best way to reform the criminal justice system is to cut back funding for and to close state prisons.
They’re expected to, within days, vote on a budget proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom that would begin shutting two of the state’s 34 prisons.
Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, said the concept has support among lawmakers who are not ready to carry out a plan to strip funding for local law enforcement agencies.
“People have been talking about less money for prisons and more money for schools. I think we are all on board with that,” Ting said. “I think if you look at local counties, they’ve looked at shutting down their juvenile facilities. That’s something I think we’re very much in support of. You have to look at every single jurisdiction on a case by case basis. They have to make that decision themselves.”
He spoke Tuesday after a ceremony to honor the life of George Floyd, an unarmed black man killed while in custody of Minneapolis police on May 25.
The California legislators kneeled for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the length of time that prosecutors say a Minneapolis officer kneeled on Floyd’s neck, cutting off his airway. A bystander’s video of Floyd’s arrest showed he pleaded for help while the officer remained on top of him.
One after the other during the tribute, California lawmakers said change was on its way in the state Capitol, and promised to reform California’s criminal justice system, which includes state prisons.
“We built prison after prison...mass incarceration and police brutality are not separate cancers,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, “They are symbiotic cancers that feed off each other and strengthen each other.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May budget proposal allocates $13.4 billion for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the agency responsible for overseeing prison facilities and an inmate population projected to exceed 123,700 people this year.
By 2023, Newsom also plans to close two state-operated prisons, saving $400 million per year, his budget notes, and allow the state to invest in rehabilitation instead of incarceration.
At an event in Oakland on Tuesday, Newsom said he wants to explore shifting more responsibilities currently on police to social services agencies. He said reviewing the responsibilities placed on police is “long overdue.”
“If you’re calling for eliminating the police, no,” he said in response to a question about whether he supports defunding the police. “If you’re talking about reimagining and taking the opportunity to look at the responsibility that we placed on law enforcement to be social workers and mental health workers and get involved in disputes where a badge and a gun are unnecessary, then I think absolutely this is an opportunity to look anew at all of the above.”
Some California city leaders are already moving to redirect law enforcement funding. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he’d divert up to $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department to bolster community services.
In Sacramento, incoming Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela wants to take back a $10 million budget bump for the Sacramento Police Department.
Others, like presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden and moderate Democrats, have resisted endorsing such an idea. Republicans in statehouses throughout the country have flatly rejected the calls to defund police departments.
Aside from distributing funding, Assembly lawmakers are expected to vote over the next few days on a handful of priority bills laid out by the California Legislative Black Caucus, including prohibiting police from using chokeholds, capping parole periods, providing reparations for descendants of slaves and repealing elements of Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot measure that banned affirmative action.
“It’s time to stand up and demonstrate,” said state Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena. “Join (the Black caucus) in playing a leading role...in reforming racism and police brutality in this state, as well as this country.”
Comments