California Department of Correction has been faced with numerous challenges that put a strain on their finances. The state itself has experienced fiscal setbacks, whereas the prisons keep receiving inmates at a high rate, leading to overpopulation. It has been observed that neither the early releases nor parole would solve this crisis. The reason is because most of the inmates who finish their sentence either by being pardoned or other release strategies, tend to come back sooner with other penalties. Funds used to sustain the inmates and maintain the correctional facilities comes from various sources. One of the sources being the tax payers, meaning the more the inmates, the more the tax payers contribute. Correctional facilities have become consuming industries and do not directly give back to the society. Their value is in the rehabilitation of criminal offenders who once released will hopefully become actively contributing members of the society.
The expenditure in California is higher compared to that of the entire state, and this finding explains how critical the crisis happens to be. There are various alternatives that can be explored to address this situation temporarily as more plans get drafted to ensure long-term sustainability. Public-private partnerships can be utilized to maximize the available resources such that continuing projects and development of infrastructure can be realized. They are also a benefit to the tax payer as the utilization of the resources ensures adequate money for sustaining correctional facilities, hence reduce the taxation baggage. Another alternative, though temporary, is the transferring of inmates to other correction facilities within the state, or even outside, so as to ease the congestion problem. The solution lies in the proper placement of inmates to increase efficiency and effectiveness. The performance of the correctional institutions gets severely impaired with the high number of inmates.
In 2006, an overcrowding lawsuit in the correctional facilities got presented in court, with the plaintiffs complaining of how the facilities overcrowding hindered proper service delivery and provision of adequate inmate healthcare. The service delivery they refer to includes, basic amenities required for basic human survival such as nourishment, sporting activities, books, pursuing of talents and enough space for people to move around. The case was to be determined by a panel of three judges, as to whether the overcrowding was the major cause for this problem. In 2009, it got concluded that indeed the problem was evident and that overcrowding was the main reason (Oversight Hearing Agenda, 2012).
Public-private partnerships, according to research, have been found to provide cost effective temporary solutions to the current overcrowding crisis. By providing opportunities to transfer inmates from state owned correctional facilities to the privately owned facilities, the state can save a lot of money. The reason is because the privately owned prisons operate with minimal expenses as compared to the public ones, yet provide the same services adequately. A challenge, however, arises, that these facilities do not have adequate space for the excess inmates in the public prisons, and, therefore, they can only accommodate a certain number periodically. Despite that, the potential outsourcing opportunity provides the state with more time to implement necessary changes to curb the crisis. Designing and construction of additional correctional facilities should be delegated to the public - private partnerships, because studies show that they would do that at lower costs than the state agencies. In the long term, the state should consider opening new correctional facilities under the public- private partnerships, so that the financial planning gets accurately done. These entities will take the load off the state correctional facilities, allowing for much needed strategic planning. There have been allegations of these privately owned facilities engaging in the illegal imprisonment of inmates. They do this in order to remain in business and receive some government funding. That is because these facilities operate on a quota basis, where for them to remain open and, hence, can receive money, they should have a minimum number of inmates. So in an attempt to ensure a continuous flow of business, they use ethically compromised legal custodians to send inmates their way in exchange for money or other valuable bribe. However, through strict policies and judiciary committees, such malpractices can be cut down to ensure that the letter of the law gets followed.
Community-based organizations, also known as non-profit organizations, are entities that exist to provide charity services. They have also played major roles in supporting correctional facilities such as provision of counselling for mental health and substance abuse victims, health care services, maintenance of facilities, as well as transport services. States can work with such organizations and as a result they would realize substantial savings in the long run.
California, according to research, has been found to experience high recidivism rates. It is a major contributor to overpopulation in the correctional facilities. States, particularly California, can utilize the services of public-private partners to improve the parole and probation system so as to boost the performance of parole and probation. These partnerships get motivated by the need to be the best at providing services that are of high quality. To achieve this, they conduct careful analysis and plan ahead, utilizing the available resources. In turn, operational costs are low, thorough analysis ensures that new ideas get generated and service delivery is of high quality and considered efficient. The government should also invest in safe houses for those individuals out on parole to ensure they do not recede. Through proper guidance and counselling, they can manage to successfully reintegrate into the society. It becomes easy for them to fall back into their old habits especially when making a living becomes too hard. Support systems and minimum wage employment opportunities will keep them busy and give them their pride back. Once they see that they can support themselves, they will endear to remain on the outside, creating more room for those still in the correctional facilities. That will in turn reduce the government expenditure on their maintenance.
The major reason that governments should contract public-private partners is because of their belief in quality. For instance, when given a job to improve a facility, they ensure that it is done well and in time because they will need another contract in future. Projects under government supervision may be poorly done because the government cannot fire itself. In brief, the level of commitment by the public-private partners is highly recommended for effective performance of the state owned correctional facilities.
Taxation of property, both business and self-owned, is a major source of revenue for California. Corporation tax, the sales and use tax, the personal income tax are also part of revenue contributor. They provide the state with over 80% of funding which is used across all state owned projects. 20% of the government revenues come from other minor taxations such as motor vehicle levies and other income sources. These are channeled to special programs such as health care and specific projects.
Taxes are essential because they enable the taxpayers to enjoy services that are important such as education, and general public security and safety. It is a good method of ensuring that citizens feel safe in their own community and at the same time benefit from the provision of well-maintained infrastructure. These services would not be available were they not catered for through taxes. Fiscal crisis in the budgetary allocations for state facilities can be solved by adjusting the existing marginal tax rate. In California, property tax is equal to all properties, regardless of it being a commercial asset or a domestic facility. The domestic taxation is supposed to be subsidized because it does not generate any income, unlike in business properties, where money is generated. Sorting such issues would ensure that citizens feel equal in all aspects. People would also be more concerned about how the taxes they are paying are being utilized.
The state should, therefore, impose a policy that will ensure the uniformity of taxation and focus the money on improving their livelihoods. Public safety and security program can be put into effect upon proper planning and reasonable allocation of funds. In order to enhance quality services and accountability, citizens should be allowed to contribute their opinion in policy making exercises. It is also important for state officials to uphold integrity through enhancing accountability and performance as their duty in safeguarding the interests of their citizens. Effects of taxation on income can affect productivity levels. High income taxations cause a workforce shift from the legal work area to activities that do not involve taxing (Picker, 2014).
It is, however, important to note that tax rates that are on the higher side in most countries having programs that are well funded for their benefit. Social security, insurance for unemployment, disability as well as other facilities for everyone, is invested upon.
The department of corrections has the responsibility of ensuring their resident’s welfare, their rehabilitation and protection occurs. They achieve this through a coordinated and cooperative effort that ultimately requires financing in order to reach its set objectives and target goals.
Financial management is the efficient use of monies received to accomplish already set out tasks. That means no misappropriation of any kind. These financial assistances happen to be the bedrock on which these institutions depend on to be effective in their roles. The importance of financial efficiency cannot get over emphasized as it is crucial in the management of any modern system. The financiers observe the use of any monies given to these institutions. There exists a direct relationship between funding and degree of financial efficiency. Therefore, the better these institutions utilize the funds they have, the more willing donors are to give (Edwards, 2013). The availability of sufficient funds imbued with strategic and efficient financial management, is the fuel that will facilitate timely execution and completion of projects.
If by any chance these institutions lack the funding they need to carry out their mandate, effective and successful execution and completion of many projects will end up unfinished. Rehabilitation will fail and convicts will reenter society without having learnt how to coexist with other people. The resources availed to inmates will be inadequate, bordering on abuse of their rights. Furthermore, the corrections officers will not leave unharmed. They dedicate their lives in pursuit of protecting the innocent and rehabilitating the crooked. Their remuneration and benefits will discourage them; negatively impacting their service delivery.
References
Edwards, C. (2013, June). Downsizing the Federal Government: Fiscal Federalism. Cato Institute. Retrieved from http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/sites/downsizinggovernment.org/files/pdf/fiscal-federalism_0.pdf
Oversight Hearing Agenda. (2012, February 29). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Population Overview. Subcommittee No.5 on Public Safety. Retrieved from http://blogs.sacbee.com/the_state_worker/022912%20-%20Sub%205%20CDCR%20Agenda.pdf
Picker, L. (2014, November 2). Effects of Taxes on Labor Income. The National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/digest/dec04/w10509.html
