Governor's budget proposals endanger public safety, contend state DAs

January 27, 2009 |
Valor

Last week on Friday, the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) sent letters “to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the members of the California Legislature expressing its firm opposition to the proposed elimination of prosecution grant programs.” The CDAA said some of the prosecution grant programs that may be cut include “child abuse, gang violence, the proliferation of methamphetamine, crimes against our vital agricultural industry, and the escalating use of the Internet and technology to exploit children and the elderly.”
In one of the letters to Schwarzenegger, prosecutors were highly critical of the “Governor’s plan to eliminate parole supervision for all non-serious, non-violent, and non-sex offenders.” A portion of the letter said:

“Parole is an essential law enforcement tool enabling peace officers to search the persons, vehicles, and residences of parolees. Parole searches have saved innocent lives and prevented countless violent crimes. To unilaterally eliminate parole for thousands of prison inmates would constitute a public safety disaster.”

Another letter to state legislators talked about the “magnitude of the unprecedented budget shortfall facing our state and the sacrifices necessary to put California’s fiscal house in order.” But the CDAA believes “that many of the proposals contained in the Governor’s budget disproportionately impact prosecutors, irrevocably damage public safety in California, and serve only to exacerbate our economic problems.”
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