Changes are under way for determining where inmates are housed in California prisons, officials say.
Under the new classification score system, an inmates’ institutional behavior would be a greater determinate of where that inmate is housed. Previously the classification emphasized the amount of time served on a sentence and type of crime the inmate committed.
Inmates who have serious in-custody rule violations or a history of escape would remain in high security prisons under the new system, officials say.
The changes come in a time when California’s prison system is under great scrutiny.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that housing prisoners in overcrowded prisons violated their constitutional rights and ordered the state to reduce its prison population.
The state’s response to the court order, called realignment, keeps low-level offenders and minor parole violators in county jails. Previously many were sent to state prisons to serve their sentences.
Officials say realignment will reduce the state prison population. It is also aimed at reducing recidivism by expanding vocational, education and rehabilitation programs.