Guest opinion
Keep criminals in prisons --not in neighborhoods
By Audra Strickland State Assemblymember

Assemblymember Audra Strickland

To many of us, the idea of a household budget and making all efforts to make ends meet is familiar. We monitor our incomes and make the best decisions we can based on the needs of our families, yet there are some things that are not sacrificed in order to save money.

For instance, with the high price of gas in mind, a family in need of a new car may purchase a more fuel efficient vehicle. That same family would not go so far as to purchase a cheaper car thadidn't have air bags, seatbelts or properly functioning brakes. A decision like that is penny-wise and pound-foolish.

As our state seemingly experiences perennial budget deficitsmost Californians would love to spend less on prisons. But there are very few willing to allow convicts to live in and roam around our neighborhoods to save tax dollars on our correction system, yet that's exactly what was proposed in Sacramento by a few liberal lawmakers.

To avoid passage of tougher proposals that would make it a felony to possess a single image of child pornography, liberals in the Assembly amended AB 50 so that it would allow the possession of up to 99 pieces of child pornography before it could be considered a felony. It's important to note that "pieces" weren't defined as images or pictures. As such, someone could possess 99 compact discs with thousands of images on each one.

As AB 50 was being debated on the floor of the Assembly, legislators were warned that prisons would become overcrowded and more prisons would need to be built unless a more liberal law was passed. Although that may be true, it's simply wrong to put the cost of imprisoning child porn criminals ahead of the safety of children. The contents of this measure was eventually fully removed and replaced in the state Senate.

Another measure, SB 1547, was introduced this year to require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to enact early release policies in our prisons and to shorten parole supervision periods to save state funds. Although this measure was approved in the state Senate, it failed to garner enough votes in the Assembly to be approved.

There's certainly waste and abuse in the state budget and I'm pleased to see that liberal legislators are now looking to tighten our government belt rather than increase taxes. However, there are other areas we can cut instead of public safety. We can begin by eliminating the many boards and commissions that serve as a way for politicians to reward political supporters. These boards and commissions meet once a month while members are paid over $100,000 a year.

The state budget is a blueprint of our priorities and public safety needs to be among the highest priorities. As California looks to decrease the size of government and cut the fat out of its bloated budget, legislators need to understand that there should be no compromise to the safety of our families.

Strickland serves the 37th dis- trict, which includes Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Santa Paula, Fillmore and Ojai.