Preventing Crime

By Chris Kelly

As Attorney General, I will work to prevent crime before it happens by expanding educational and economic opportunities for all Californians, reducing gang activity, strengthening effective rehabilitation programs, and improving community-police relations.

1. Expanding Educational and Economic Opportunities:

Supporting Educational Opportunity for All Californians by Reducing Dropout Rates. Investing in education is an investment in our communities and in our state's future. The number one way to reduce and prevent crime is to expand educational and economic opportunities across our state. Studies show that people with higher levels of education are less likely to commit crime. That's why the Governor and the Legislature need to find solutions to our state's budget crisis that don't cut billions more from our public schools and shortchange an entire generation of students of the quality education they deserve.

Education, combined with job opportunities, provides individuals in vulnerable communities a way out of economic hardship and a hopeful path towards full civic engagement. Poor education can lead to poor life choices, which increases the likelihood of criminal activity. Currently, 52 percent of California prison inmates possess less than a seventh grade reading level. If we can improve the quality of education across California and make sure our kids stay in school, we can help improve the opportunities and overall life choices for all, create more productive and engaged citizens, and reduce crime in our communities.

In order to increase educational opportunities for all Californians, we need to work together to reduce dropout rates. High school dropouts cost our state more than $1 billion annually in juvenile crime. They are also twice as likely to commit crime as high school graduates. That's why I want to work with teachers, principals, school employees, school safety employees, the Legislature, non-profit community groups and parents to increase graduation rates throughout California. By encouraging junior high and high school students to stay in school, we are showing them a path for success. While California dropout rates have declined, there is still more work to be done, particularly in our urban school districts, like Los Angeles and Oakland.

It's clear to me that in order to achieve these goals and reduce drop-out rates, we simply cannot keep cutting billions from our public schools and deny students the resources they need to graduate and succeed.

Expanding and Focusing `Stay in School Programs' on Elementary and Junior High Students. The U.S. Department of Education calls skipping school and high levels of student absences "a gateway to crime." It's just common-sense that students who miss a lot of school are more likely to get involved in criminal activity and to drop out of school. As part of my plan to prevent crime, I will work with the California Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop a statewide truancy reduction and prevention program that specifically focuses on making sure elementary and junior high students attend school, in order to reduce their susceptibility to gang recruitment. A study of the Houston, Texas, anti-gang program showed that early intervention helped to keep children in school and from getting involved in gangs. I applaud school districts that have toughened their attendance policies, making sure our kids get to school and that parents are held accountable if a child is missing from class. Mentorship programs are also an effective method of reducing gang-activity, and we should replicate successful plans in our public schools. We also need to keep students interested and engaged, and teach them practical, real-life skills that will help them compete in a global economy.

Providing Legal Assistance to California Workforce Development Programs. Education alone cannot prevent crime; we also need to help the Californians who are currently unemployed. California is home to more than 260 One-Stop Centers--workforce development agencies that assist people in finding jobs and job-training programs. These One-Stop Centers are currently helping the 2.5 million Californians without jobs to re-enter the workforce. As Attorney General, I will help lead the effort to connect Californians who seek assistance at One-Stop Centers to any legal help they need while they get back on their feet. This includes connecting them to the proper Department of Industrial Relations officials for questions on redress for unlawful firings or advising individuals on unemployment benefits.

In addition, I will link the Attorney General's website to the state's job bank and employment services via the Employment Development Department. I will also reach out to the business community to promote and expand upon teen internship and mentorship programs.

2. Reducing Gang Activity:

Using Technology to Prevent Gang Activity. In all of our anti-gang efforts, new technology can be our ally. As Attorney General, I will work with local law enforcement, border patrol officers, sheriffs, probation officers, city attorneys, prosecutors and others to ensure the latest and most innovative technologies are used to share information in real-time to effectively combat gang crime. I will also provide a clearinghouse of best practices for using social networking sites and other online technologies for tracking and preventing crime and blocking inmates from using Facebook, MySpace and other social networking sites for criminal activities from inside jail and prison. One of my top priorities will be to outfit all prisons with designated cell phone signal blocking areas to filter out communications between imprisoned gang members and non-imprisoned gang members while not blocking necessary cell phone usage by guards and prison officials. By jamming inmate cell phone connections and by blocking online social networking sites, we will help prevent crime from being committed from inside our prisons and jails.

Making Gang Reduction and Intervention Programs Across California Effective. We need innovative, fresh approaches to reduce gang violence across our state. With the right leadership and information sharing across California, ground-breaking efforts--such as those created through the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Gang Reduction Program--can succeed across California. The California Gang Reduction Intervention Program (CalGRIP), which targets teen populations in high-crime, high-risk communities, was recently implemented. A key component of GRIP is a teen resource center that facilitates distribution of support and employment services for at-risk teens. The program works to provide positive alternatives to gang activity. By working with law enforcement and the Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy that oversees CalGRIP, I will work to make this program more effective by gearing it toward younger children who are more susceptible to being lured into gangs. I will also monitor CalGRIP grantees, making sure that the program is effectively distributing funds to our communities that are most in need.

Strengthening Effective Afterschool Violence Prevention Programs. When our children are actively engaged in school--through effective teachers, supportive administrations and afterschool programs--they do not turn to gangs and crime as a means to find a supportive community. Though they also haven't been spared from the state's budget cuts, after-school programs keep children occupied during the hours when violent juvenile crime is most likely to occur. They also provide guidance and adult oversight to children whose parents are working or are not able to provide parental care. Recent statewide and local evaluations of California's after-school programs found consistently positive results for students enrolled in these programs, including improved student achievement, increased school attendance and improved personal behavior. As California's next Attorney General, I will work with the California Department of Education's After-School Education and Safety Program to ensure that our programs incorporate and teach a strong anti-violence message, promote a variety of higher learning and future employment-track options, and have the resources they need to provide enriching and meaningful community support to all our students. Our kids need to understand that they have choices in what they do after school ends, whether it is going to college, attending trade school to become an electrician or computer tech, or even starting their own business.

Creating Mentorship and Expanding Teen Employment Programs. As Attorney General, I will create local mentorship programs and expand employment programs for at-risk youth. This has been successfully accomplished in other communities and states across the nation, and we would be smart to follow suit. In an effort to prevent gun violence among high at-risk youth in Chicago, the city's Superintendent of Schools Ron Huberman created a system for identifying the highest at-risk youth, partnering them with adult mentors and enrolling them in employment programs.

In California, I will work with community organizations, school districts, small business employers and youth advocates to create school-age mentorship programs and with the Employment Development Department to expand at-risk teen employment programs. Once at-risk youth are identified by measuring their likelihood to join a gang or commit a crime, we will connect them to adult mentors and enter older, teenage students into effective job-training and employment programs.

As Attorney General, I will conduct a pilot teen mentorship and employment program through the Los Angeles county juvenile justice system. Youth who enter a Los Angeles county juvenile hall are only 26% likely to pass their high school exit exam, whereas their 70% non-juvenile hall peers pass the exit exam. Los Angeles County also has one of the lowest graduation rates for a large public school system nationwide. According to researchers at USC, 15% of youth from any given neighborhood will join a gang. Because juvenile crime costs the state more than a billion dollars annually and more than 25% of all juvenile crimes in the state are committed in Los Angeles County, innovative approaches such as a combined mentorship-employment program are needed. Should the pilot program prove effective in reducing gang participation among young students and teens, we will expand the program throughout California.

3. Strengthening Effective Rehabilitation Programs:

Connecting In-Prison and Community-Based Rehabilitation Programs. California has the highest recidivism rate in the nation, with 7 out of every 10 parolees returning either to state prisons or local jails within three years. To effectively reduce the rate of recidivism, we need to connect in-prison rehabilitation programs with community-based rehabilitation programs. This connection of programs helps inmates make the transition from prison back into society and reduces recidivism. A recent study by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) showed that an in-prison substance abuse program, followed by community-based substance abuse treatment for inmates, reduced recidivism and helped prevent crime across our state. As Attorney General, I will work with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to strengthen programs that connect in-prison programs with community-based re-entry programs. Wrap-around services such as substance abuse counseling, employment assistance, mental health counseling and housing assistance must be a part of this effort.

Using Drug Courts to Get People Back on the Right Track. Early intervention is critically important to stop potential offenders who start down the dangerous path toward criminal behavior. Drug courts are a good early intervention tool. They are a good mechanism to achieve more efficient judicial practices, reduce recidivism and save taxpayers money. Drug courts use a non-adversarial approach, integrating justice system case processing with innovative alcohol, drug and rehabilitation services. A study of California drug courts showed that only 19% of drug court graduates were re-arrested for criminal activity, compared with 41% of traditional court participants. Not only do drug courts help reduce recidivism rates, they also save taxpayers money. It has been estimated that California's 90 drug courts saved taxpayers $90 million in 2006 due to decreased victimization and savings to justice systems agencies. Diverting minor drug offenders to their respective drug court is an effective method of preventing future crime and helping people get back on the right track. As California's next Attorney General, I will continue the gains made by our drug courts and will provide these courts with the technology and resources they need to perform well and handle the increased caseload.

Effectively Using California Multi-jurisdiction Methamphetamine Enforcement Team (Cal-MMET) to Reduce Meth Usage. Currently, the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs estimates that Californians make up 40 percent of the nationwide meth treatment admissions. Outside of San Francisco, which has a higher heroin usage rate, meth usage, manufacturing, and trafficking have become a statewide problem. I will work with the statewide Cal-MMET to share best practices and information in an efficient and timely manner across jurisdictions, and to assist localities with any needs they have to better fight California's meth usage problem.

Eliminating Ineffective and Dangerous Diversion Programs. In addition to supporting effective programs that reduce costs, Californians deserve an honest assessment of diversion programs currently in operation throughout our state. As evidenced by the aforementioned examples, there are highly performing rehabilitation and alternative programs. However, we can no longer tolerate ineffective diversion programs that threaten community safety and cost taxpayers millions of dollars. In some cases, current programs have allowed high-risk felons access to "get out of jail free" cards. Eliminating ineffective programs is no longer simply optional in California; it is absolutely necessary. I will ensure that any publicly funded diversion program is properly monitored and provides statistically significant evidence of reduced crime and recidivism. My Attorney General's office will compile smart standards that are achievable in order to meet our diversion program goals. When programs do not produce measurable positive results, it is our responsibility to hold them accountable and, when necessary, to shut them down. Given our current financial crisis, we cannot afford to waste one dollar on faulty diversion programs.

4. Improving Community-Police Relations:

Increasing the Number of Community Police through the federal COPS program. As a former policy advisor to President Clinton, I helped advance the successful initiative to put 100,000 new community police officers on America's streets. This initiative contributed significantly to the reduction of violent crime by 25% from 1994-2000. I know the importance of funding and supporting local law enforcement as a key to preventing crime. Particularly in this time of state and local budget cuts to law enforcement, federal funding through the COPS program can be critical to preserving community policing. As of July 2008, California has received more than $1.2 billion in Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. The COPS program provides vital resources--not only to local law enforcement, but also to school resource officers who work to keep our schools safe. In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $1 billion to the U.S. Department of Justice for the COPS Hiring Recovery Program. As California's Attorney General, I will fight for our fair share of these stimulus funds for California communities. I will also work with the US DOJ in the management and distribution of these funds to make sure that the grant amounts awarded are actually getting to our communities in need.

Empowering Citizens to Avoid Becoming Victims of Crime. As your Attorney General, I will work to improve public awareness about the steps citizens can take to prevent becoming victims. Communities deserve to know when and where crime is occurring on their streets. Now, citizens and companies are starting to create web resources dedicated to tracking crime and planning the safest route home. As Attorney General, I will work alongside citizen advocates and the business community to develop and promote an outlet for communities to educate, network and share technology to empower all citizens in avoiding high-crime areas. As part of the Attorney General's website, I will make local and neighborhood crime data more accessible and include a mapping capability to show where crime is most prevalent throughout the state. I will link this user-friendly site to the main California state website, so that all Californians can easily use technology to become more aware of high-crime areas and be catalysts for community improvement.

As Attorney General, I will work to prevent crime before it happens. To do so, I will work to expand educational and economic opportunities for all Californians, reduce gang activity, strengthen effective rehabilitation programs, and improve community-police relations. By implementing these crime prevention initiatives, we can make California a safer and stronger place for our families and kids.