22% of Crime In 4 CA Cities Committed by Probationers, Parolees
January 23, 2013 07:36:00 am
In a seminal study of four California cities, Sacramento had the highest rate of crime committed by probationers and parolees--30 percent, compared with 23 percent in Los Angeles, 22 percent in Redlands, and 11 percent in San Francisco, reports the Sacramento Bee. The report by the Council of State Governments Justice Center said it quantified for the first time how much of a locality's crimes are committed by parolees and probationers.
Retired Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel was instrumental in getting the study started, seeking more information about how to predict and stop crime before it happens. "In California, with the big reduction of funding, we have to get smarter about fighting crime," he said. The report found that from Jan. 1, 2008, to June 30, 2011, 22 percent of crime was committed in the four cities by probationers and parolees. Sacramento has more people, per capita, who are on probation and parole, Braziel said. Sacramento County's Probation Department has experienced deep staff cuts. The lack of probation staff means greater responsibility for police, said Braziel, who plans to continue studying the issue as an executive fellow at the Police Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Posted by Irvin Waller
Thursday, January 24, 2013 08:09
The study refers to arrests – not crimes! 30% of the arrests in Sacramento were of persons on probation or parole! As arrests of parolees are often easier than of persons not yet known to police, this shows the Sacramento police to be smarter, but the better solutions to reduce the number of victims and save taxes would be to shift funds into prevention.