Police are closely monitoring a new group of parolees on Morgan
Hill’s streets who can’t be carted off to jail as easily as
traditional parolees.
Police are closely monitoring a new group of parolees on Morgan Hill’s streets who can’t be carted off to jail as easily as traditional parolees.
The new state parole program that allows certain criminals to be unsupervised when they get out of prison – known as non-revocable parole – is supposed to let authorities keep a closer eye on violent felons, but local police say the policy will result in more violence, drug trafficking and theft.
“It’s completely predictable,” Morgan Hill police chief Bruce Cumming said. “These people, when they get out of prison they go back to doing exactly what they went to prison for. They go back to their same neighborhood, same crowd, back to drugs, back to robbing people and breaking into houses and stealing cars.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation started the program in January as a way to reform the parole system by refocusing priorities and making better use of the state’s dwindling resources, CDCR spokesman Luis Patino said.
Traditional parolees can have their parole revoked and be ordered back to prison for any parole violation, including committing minor crimes and misdemeanors. Non-revocable parolees, however, can be ordered back to prison only after being convicted of a felony, in most standard cases and depending on their criminal history.
Non-revocable parolees, in general, are not subject to the strict supervision that traditional parolees are – including drug testing, referral to community services, home visits by assigned parole agents and periodic checking in with authorities.
“The only thing they’re subject to is search and seizure without a warrant,” added CDCR spokesman Ed Achziger.
Offenders who have been released from prison or were on traditional parole as of January have to meet a list of requirements to be eligible for non-revocable parole. Non-revocable parolees cannot have been convicted of serious or violent felonies such as child molestation, bank robbery, murder or voluntary manslaughter.
Furthermore, parolees required to register sex offenders are not eligible for the new program, nor are validated gang members, according to the CDCR web site.
As of July 22, of the 83 active parolees living in Morgan Hill, only eight are on non-revocable parole. In Gilroy, of 225 active parolees, 28 are on non-revocable parole.
Statewide, about 15,000 out of about 109,000 total active parolees have non-revocable status.
The California Association of Police Chiefs thinks non-revocable parole is a bad idea, Cumming said, chiefly because most former prisoners have a tendency toward violence, even if they have not been convicted of violent crimes. He said it will “add to the pile” of parolees.
Furthermore, he said it takes a series of serious convictions to get sent to prison in the first place, so almost all parolees on Morgan Hill’s streets have long rap sheets.
“I don’t buy it and I think it is a foolhardy way to save money,” Cumming said.
One possible example is the case of George Barraza, who was arrested July 24 on suspicion of possession of drugs with the intent to sell. Police, recognizing him as a parolee, pulled him over as he was riding a bicycle. He tried to flee, but officers caught up to him and found several individually wrapped plastic bags containing what police believed to be crystal methamphetamine and marijuana.
Because Barraza, whose previous convictions include drug possession with intent to sell, was suspected of felonies, he was booked into county jail regardless of his parole status. The Santa Clara County District Attorney has since charged him with possession for sale of a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance and two misdemeanors.
But Achziger said the program, which is part of a wider effort to reform the state’s parole system, is “a better way of doing business,” because it allows authorities to focus on offenders who are most likely to commit additional crimes.
The reforms “significantly” reduced the average caseload per parole agent from 70 parolees to 48, allowing the department to direct resources where they are needed most – on higher-risk, violent, and potential repeat offenders, Patino added.
Morgan Hill police Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said non-revocable parole could create a “revolving door” of people with criminal histories becoming repeatedly involved in crime.
“If we only had a misdemeanor arrest on (a parolee), in the past we could get a parole hold, which is a felony, and at least get them locked up and out of the community” for a few days, Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said.
When local police arrest someone, they typically only send them to county jail for booking if they are suspected of a felony, Neumayer said. Those arrested on suspicion of misdemeanors are booked at the local police department, and might have to spend a few hours in a holding cell before being released.
Now, if a non-revocable parolee commits a misdemeanor, it is not an automatic parole violation and they are likely to be processed as if they are a first-time offender, Neumayer explained.
Local police have not noticed a significant recurring problem of non-revocable parolees continuing to commit crime, but they also do not keep track of who is in the new program, Neumayer said.
When asked for specific examples of how the new program has backfired, Cumming said, “There will be examples.”
“We deal with parolees every day, and so does Gilroy. They’re often involved in drug use, drug sales, drunk driving, domestic violence, you name it,” Cumming said.
One goal of the non-revocable parole program was to save money in the face of the state’s growing budget deficit. However, savings achieved so far have been put back into the CDCR to improve the supervision and monitoring of more serious parolees, Patino explained.
The CDCR did not know how many non-revocable parolees have been sent back to prison as of press time.
