Californians for Safety and Justice Praises Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposed Budget for Making Critical Investments in Safety for All California Communities

Budget Contains More Than $1 Billion for Treatment and Crime Prevention, including Nearly $115 million in Prop. 47 Savings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2021

CONTACT:
Will Matthews, Californians for Safety and Justice, (909) 261-1398; [email protected]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Californians for Safety and Justice on Friday praised Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2021-2022 fiscal year budget for its investments in public safety. By prioritizing investments that will effectively meet the needs of our communities, California can address the underlying drivers of crime and prevent it, and ensure survivors of crime have the resources they need to heal.

The budget proposal released by Newsom Friday includes nearly $115 million in Proposition 47 savings. Each year, the money saved as a result of reduced incarceration from Proposition 47, which was passed overwhelmingly by state voters in 2014, is returned to local communities to fund treatment and mental health programs, truancy prevention programs and trauma recovery centers to help survivors of crime heal.

The proposed budget also contains a $750 million general fund allocation for competitive grants to counties for the acquisition of physical buildings to house the provision of mental health services, as well as the reallocation of more than $200 million in unused jail bond financing for the purchase or modification of community mental health facilities.

The proposed budget contains more than half a billion dollars for rehabilitative programming for people in prison who will be released, which is a doubling of the investment by the state in rehabilitation since 2012-2013.

Importantly, the budget recommits to shuttering the Deuel Vocational Institute in Tracy by September of this year, as well as closing a second prison facility by the end of 2023. The budget reflects anticipated cost savings from the closure of Deuel at over $260 million over the next two fiscal years.

“The proposed budget released today by Gov. Newsom represents a stark departure from the failed ‘tough on crime’ approaches of the past that have never produced true safety or well-being in our communities, and reflects a commitment to pursuing strategies proven to more effectively prevent crime and harm from occurring in the first place,” said Jay Jordan, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice. “The more than $100 billion we’ve needlessly poured into incarceration during the past decade alone has destabilized entire communities and fueled stubbornly-high recidivism rates. We can and must do better by pursuing approaches that science and data clearly show more effectively ensure safety for all Californians.”

For the second consecutive year, the governor’s proposed budget also contains a general fund allocation to the victim compensation fund to ensure it remains solvent and able to provide essential support for survivors of crime without having to rely on increased fines and fees imposed upon Californians by the courts and justice system.

“The resources provided by California’s victim compensation fund are imperative for ensuring that survivors of crime are able to heal,” said Tinisch Hollins, California state director for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. “We are deeply appreciative of Gov. Newsom’s leadership and for his continued willingness to make certain that all crime survivors – and especially survivors from those communities most impacted by crime and violence every day – are able to access the assistance and support we need to recover.”