California Governor Gavin Newsom is one of the most well-known political leaders in America. However, not everyone believes the governor is making the best decisions for the Golden State.
Most recently, the Democratic governor is facing significant backlash for his decision to make cuts to the law enforcement and prison budgets. Many worry that the decision will lead to increased crime across the state.
Governor Newsom Has Spent a Fortune
One of the major complaints about Governor Newsom is that he has been overspending since he took office in 2018.
In 2017, the California state deficit was only $1.6 billion, but now, six years into Newsom’s reign, the deficit sits at an almost unbelievable $68 billion for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
Governor Newsom Is Now Trying to Fix the Budget Problem
In response to this substantial deficit, the governor is now trying to find ways to curtail California’s spending, and the latest state budget proposal shows exactly where he plans to cut back.
The budget proposal, which was released in May 2024, states that next year California will spend nearly $200 million less on public safety, including law enforcement and prisons than it did in 2024.
Where Exactly Will the Money Be Taken From?
Specifically, the budget outlines a $97 million cut to trial court operations, a $80 million deduction from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation budget, and $10 million less to the state’s Department of Justice Division of Law Enforcement.
And the vast majority of California residents are absolutely outraged by the decision.
America Wanted the Government to “Defund the Police”
What’s especially interesting about this upset is that, for several years, Americans around the nation have been begging their local governments to defund the police.
The argument has been that police departments are often oppressive, violent, and even racist. Therefore, millions believed that fewer police officers would mean a safer America, but that’s not exactly what happened.
Many Cities Did Defund the Police and It Backfired
The many protests and calls to defund the police over the past several years led to many cities actually cutting back on their law enforcement budgets. However, new data shows that those that did defund saw a significant uptick in crime.
A report published in September 2023 by advocacy group Our America showed that five cities, including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tuscon, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, all saw an increase in crime after decreasing the police budget.
Crime Decreased in Oakland With Added Police Presence
Additionally, there is evidence to support the argument that increasing police funding and subsequent presence actually reduces crime.
The city of Oakland, California, saw a significant increase in crime during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. But since Governor Newsom sent an additional 120 officers to the city, increasing police presence by 900% crime has decreased by up to 33%.
Governor Newsom Claims He Is Not Defunding the Police
After the May budget proposal became public knowledge, controversy erupted in California and around the country. The majority of people who responded chastised Newsom for defunding the police are worried that the decision would increase crime throughout the state.
Newsom then announced that the budget was misinterpreted; he said “No police are being defunded,” and noted that he has actually increased the Department of Justice budget by 33% since taking office.
True or False: California Is Defunding the Police
It’s important to note that while the numbers don’t lie and there will be a 1.6% decrease in the annual Department of Justice budget, the cutbacks are not going to affect the state’s police departments.
One of Newsom’s spokespeople explained, “The CA DOJ doesn’t run a police force and this small proposed spending reduction is in line with what all state agencies would experience under the proposal. The reduction would be implemented at the CA DOJ’s discretion.”
The California Corrections Budget Will Be Cut
Governor Newsom also wants Californians to understand that the significant cut to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation budget will in no way affect their daily lives or let convicted criminals out early.
The spokesperson continued, “The reductions to prison spending will not impact public safety or result in the ‘release of inmates.’ Savings are being achieved by cutting costs, including the deactivation of beds.”
Californians Are Afraid of Rising Crime Rates
Even with Gov. Newsom’s promise that the budget cuts will not affect police departments, Californians are quite scared of any decision that could increase crime rates. And that is because statewide crime is already dangerously high.
California’s violent crime rate has increased by 5.7% since 2022, auto theft is now 31.6% higher than it was in 2019, aggravated assault crimes increased by 9.9% in 2023, and retail theft is through the roof.
The Push to Cut the Massive Prison Budget
Democratic leaders in the Golden State’s capital urged Newsom to make budget cuts that would help reduce the state’s massive deficit while pushing for more progressive goals, like cutting California’s massive prison system.
Politico reports that Democratic lawmakers argue the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s $14.5 billion budget is bloated and will have 15,000 empty beds, according to a recent report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Newsom Caves to New Budget
While Newsom has stood against more left-leaning lawmakers’ pleas to cut the prison budget, the governor finds himself between a rock and a hard place.
The state’s rise in crime, rise in deficit, and the outcry for more liberal-leaning agendas come as Newsom finds himself in a strange political era, where he is being vilified for his plans that have left the Golden State is shambles, causing more and more people to flee to other states.
Reducing Funding for State Prisons
While Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire floated that the state cut $1 billion in their joint legislative plan, Newsome reduced funding for corrections by $80.6 million.
The prison budget cuts could alleviate the pain points in other areas, such as homelessness programs, and other safety-net services that could help the most vulnerable Californians.
“Should Have Happened Before”
“This should have happened before, but no time like the present to right-size CDCR’s budget,” Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener told Playbook (via Politico). “We know that our prison population is down, but the budget keeps going up.”
While the rest of the nation’s prison population has increased by more than 2% between 2021 and 2022, California’s has declined by 3,833, according to a report by Las Vegas injury firm H&P Law, based on data from the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics that analyzed incarceration rates in 2021 and 2022.
Three Prisons Shut Down
The need to cut the budget for prisons makes sense as Newsom closed two prisons–the Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy in 2021 and the California Correctional Center in Susanville in 2023.
The Chuckawalla Valley State Prison is expected to close by March 2025 due to the low number of prisoners in the state.
California Has New Rules for Inmates
In an email with Newsweek, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) said, “CDCR has observed a decrease in the institution population, primarily because of Proposition 57 and other recent policy changes.”
In 2016, 65% of California voters approved Proposition 57, which allowed for parole consideration for nonviolent felons.
Anticipating Fewer Inmates
It seems like everyone in the state is expecting the prisons to hold fewer inmates this year. This anticipation gives Newsom the chance to close prisons and save nearly $1 billion a year.
“The anticipated decrease in the number of people on parole is mainly due to recent policy changes that have shortened the duration of time individuals spend on parole by allowing them to be released earlier than previously allowed,” CDCR told Newsweek.
Cutting Prison Budgets
A spokesperson for Newsom’s Department of Finance noted that the proposed budget cuts for the prisons, which will see 4,600 prison beds or 46 housing units across 13 prisons get the ax, will decrease the number of inmates per prison.
This will allow facilities to focus more on rehabilitation programs that will help prepare inmates to “successfully rejoin their communities.”
The Paradoxical Budget
Assemblymember Mia Bonta has been the most vocal lawmaker about prison cuts. The former chairperson of the Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety noted that the CDCR’s budget is paradoxical.
Nearly two decades ago, the budget wasn’t nearly as large as it is today despite having 165,000 inmates. Today, there are about 93,000 people in state prisons.
Frustrations Toward the State’s “Prison Industrial Complex”
Bonta and other lawmakers feel frustrated with the state’s “prison industrial complex,” a term that describes how government and industry interests overlap through surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social, and political problems.
“It signals to me, and I’m sure makes other Californians wonder, whether we care more about buildings than people,” Bonta notes.
The Rising Cost of Prisons in CA
Fewer people are in California prisons, but the cost of imprisonment has increased by more than 90% in the past decade. According to state finance documents, the annual cost for one inmate is $132,860 (via CalMatters).
This jump in cost came after the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to grow despite recent cost-cutting movies.
Cutting Out Unnecessary Costs
The increase results from lucrative employee compensation deals proposed by Newsom and supported by the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (the union for prison guards), along with improved health care behind bars.
Some lawmakers and advocates argue that California should focus on rehabilitation and cut out additional prisons to save money.
The Budget Is Set in Stone
Governor Newsom signed the finalized 2024-2025 California state budget on July 1, 2024. So even though people will continue to debate the decreased funding for the Department of Justice, there’s nothing they can do about it now.
Hopefully, for both the Governor and the residents of California, Newsom’s decision will not increase crime in California. If it does, his constituents will certainly blame him and his defunding.
