Under a new state law, offenders under the age of 22 no longer can be automatically placed in California’s highest security prisons, which have a reputation for violence.
This shift is the result of AB1276, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed Sept. 26. It requires California prison administrators to review the placement of young offenders when they first arrive at prison. The law aims to keep youthful inmates out of Level IV prison yards – which offer fewer rehabilitation opportunities for prisoners. Instead, they will be placed in lower-level prisons where access to self-help, vocational training and educational opportunities are more available.
“One purpose of incarceration is rehabilitation, and young adults can be especially influenced by positive or negative models,” the bill reads. “There are often negative influences at higher custody level facilities. In addition, younger inmates tend to be more vulnerable to physical and sexual assault at those facilities.”
“Young people are more susceptible than older adults to influences around them, both good and bad. This new law is an opportunity to positively shape the direction of a young person’s life,” said Elizabeth Calvin of Human Rights Watch.
The law is not a guaranteed ticket to a low-security prison for youth, however. According to the bill, “if the youth offender demonstrates he or she is a safety risk to inmates, staff or the public, and does not otherwise demonstrate a commitment to rehabilitation, the youth offender shall be reclassified and placed at a security level that is consistent with department regulations and procedures.”
Once convicted, prisoners are given a “classification score” – a number that designates the security level of the prison in which they will be housed. A specially trained committee reviews cases annually.
The law will afford youth offenders who are denied or disqualified from lower-level placement a hearing to reconsider their placement within the prison system. These hearings will be available to young inmates until they are 25, according to the Legislative Counsels Digest.
This latest law is one in a series aimed at shifting how the state handles young prisoners. One law, SB9, aimed to re-sentence juveniles convicted to life sentences without the possibility of parole. Another, SB260, changed the way parole boards consider youth cases.
AB1276 was authored by Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) and co-sponsored by the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Human Rights Watch and Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey.
