Stanislaus Sheriff Dirkse: CA must stop early release of prison inmates

The state of California is putting our community in danger.

In the last 14 months the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has released 773 convicted felons early from state prison back into Stanislaus County. Of those inmates, 289 have already been rearrested, some multiple times for a total of 598 rearrests. The first arrest was, on average, four months after their re-release.

While many of the new offenses are minor, many are not. Four prisoners who were released early are back in my jail for murder, some of which were committed while the offenders should have still been in prison.

These are stunning figures. A 40% recidivism rate within a matter of months is almost unfathomable and a clear indication that our state’s early release policies are not working.

Prisoners received early releases for a variety of reasons including COVID-19, the recalculation of good-time credits, and the state’s overall desire to reduce prison populations and close prisons. While we all wish fewer people were incarcerated, simply reducing sentences and releasing convicted felons is not the solution.

Actions have consequences. If someone commits crimes sufficient to warrant a prison sentence, early releases should be the exception, not the rule. In the absence of clear evidence of rehabilitation, releasing individuals early endangers our community and puts citizens at risk of being victimized. This is unacceptable.

This also drains resources and causes more congestion in the already impacted criminal justice system. The Sheriff’s Office, local police departments, Probation Department, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and Superior Court all see more work, more dangerous criminals and a higher risk of violent confrontations. None of this benefits our community.

My solution is simple. First, eliminate virtually all early releases prospectively. We cannot undo the releases that have already occurred, but criminals must be held accountable for their actions. Unless they demonstrate true rehabilitation, they should serve their entire sentence. Again, early releases should be the exception, not the expectation.

Second, provide significant additional funding to local law enforcement agencies and the entire criminal justice system to deal with the impacts to our communities. To keep our citizens safe, we must swiftly arrest, prosecute, and hold accountable those who wish to break the law.

As the sheriff of Stanislaus County, I call upon our state lawmakers to ensure criminals serve their full sentences or are fully rehabilitated before release. Criminal justice reform must include a halt to early releases.