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Studies conducted by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office found it cost an average of $106,000 per year to incarcerate an inmate in California. About three-quarters of these costs are for security and inmate health care. Breaking down to a whopping $50.96 per hour if paid on a forty-hour workweek and $12.10 per hour paid 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 hours a year. Legislative e Analyst's Office (ca.gov)  

Sadly, we’ve seen that when facilities do not have the proper funding to house inmates, then human rights violations occur. Here in San Diego County, those violations led to 185 preventable deaths---one of the highest totals throughout the entire State of California! Not only do these violations cause a needless loss of life, but they also end up costing taxpayers millions in subsequent lawsuits. 

See Repor  2021-109 (ca.gov) 03 Feb 2022.  

Thus, when elected, I plan to protect public safety by being smart on crime versus tough on non-violent crime by utilizing Collaborative Courts such as Drug Court, Homeless Court, and Mental Health Court to close the costly door of recidivism.

Drug courts are Judicially supervised court calendars that help participants recover from use disorder to reduce future criminal activity. As an alternative to incarceration, drug courts reduce the burden and costs of repeatedly processing low‐level, non‐violent offenders through the nation's courts, jails, and prisons while providing offenders an opportunity to receive treatment and education. See www.hhs.gov/opioids/treatment/drug-courts/index.html 

Researchers estimate that 50% of the 7 million individuals under criminal justice supervision meet the criteria for drug abuse or dependence diagnosis. But punishment alone is a futile and ineffective response to drug abuse, failing as a public safety intervention for offenders whose criminal behavior is directly related to drug use.

A comprehensive drug court system typically costs between $2,500-$4,000 annually for each offender, compared to $20,000-$50,000 per person per year to incarcerate a drug-using offender. Thus, every dollar spent on drug courts is estimated to save approximately $4 in avoided costs of incarceration and health care.

More critical, Drug Courts reduce drug use and re-arrest for non-violent, drug-involved offenders. Recidivism dropped, on average, by 38%-50% among adult drug court participants. See Drug Courts as an Alternative to Incarceration | Stanford Network on Addiction Policy

Homeless Courts are special court sessions held in a local shelter or other community site designed for homeless citizens to resolve outstanding misdemeanor criminal warrants. Typically, these crimes are principally "quality-of-life" infractions such as unauthorized shopping cart removal, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and sleeping on a sidewalk or the beach.  

In a study conducted by California Courts, nearly all individuals interviewed indicated they would have waited. Each Defendant would have had to be contacted by law enforcement, transported to a local jail, booked, housed, fed, and given medical and dental care in prison. Then, they would need to be brought before a judge, incurring court cost, to handle their often minor criminal cases.   

Comparatively, by utilizing Homeless Court, the cost of booking, food, housing, medical and dental care are all avoided. And, often because Defendants can resolve multiple cases at once in Homeless Court, the cost of having numerous court appearances is also avoided. Furthermore, through the utilization of the Homeless Court, the actual price and burden imposed upon protecting public safety by tying up law enforcement with non-violent and non-emergency crimes are avoided---All of these are costs passed on to the taxpayer when a Defendant is unable to pay.   

Additionally, data shows that Homeless Defendants are far less likely to reside in homeless shelters when they have a criminal case pending, which precludes them from obtaining state or federal funding, ultimately extending their homelessness.

Finally, California courts' recidivism data show that Defendants who participate in Homeless Court have less contact with law enforcement within 90-days after their hearing in Homeless Court than their counterparts. More importantly, an even more significant portion of Defendants who resolve their cases in Homeless Court had no post criminal activity 90-days after their Homeless Court Hearing than their counterparts who decide their cases through arrest and incarceration. See San Diego Homeless Court Program: A Process and Impact Evaluation (ca.gov) 

Veterans Court takes veterans with misdemeanor and felony convictions and places them on a separate track, giving them treatment designed especially for veterans. Defendants in the program are closely monitored with regular court hearings and supported by Veterans Affairs and other community-based organizations. Participants are rewarded for success and penalized for non-compliance with the rules. Only veterans who committed crimes due to a mental illness related to military service are eligible for the Court. Participants are carefully screened and placed into programs that will give them the tools to treat mental health issues and become productive citizens. Many vets cope with problems when they return home from a deployment and must work to readjust to civilian life and injuries and psychological issues, leading to substance abuse or issues with the law. See Veterans Court - San Diego County District Attorney (sdcda.org) 

In its first three years, the Court processed 74 vets with a 4 percent rate of recidivism, or re-offense. Meanwhile, recidivism rates in state prison populations are currently at 60 percent to 70 percent. See Progress report: Veterans Court - The San Diego Union-Tribune (sandiegouniontribune.com) 

“San Diego County is home to the nation’s largest number of veterans returning from wars and has the second-largest population of Veterans in the state of California with many of these heroes suffering from wartime injuries and mental health struggles that lead them to feel isolated and end up homeless,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. 

“Veterans Treatment Court is a great example of a fair and responsible criminal justice reform that holds offenders accountable by addressing the root causes of the criminal behavior in a treatment model focused on the particular challenges faced by returning Veterans such as PTSD and successfully interrupting the revolving door to prison.”  

Summer Stephan, San Diego County District Attorney 

“Treatment provides the best opportunity for Veterans struggling to overcome mental health and substance use disorders to regain control of their lives. Treatment is both compassionate and effective. With the help of programs like the Veterans Treatment Court, the Veteran is made whole again, and the entire community is better off.” 

Akilah Templeton, president and CEO, Veterans Village of San Diego 

See Veterans Treatment Court Celebrates Ten Years of Success | Superior Court of California - County of San Diego  

Mental Health is a form of Collaborative Courts that provide specific services and treatment to Defendants dealing with mental illness. Mental Health Courts give an alternative to the traditional court system by emphasizing a problem-solving model and connecting defendants to various rehabilitative services and support networks. Each MHC has different participant requirements and available services. Mental Health Courts use a case management structure based on intensive supervision/monitoring and individual accountability. Case management is supervised by a team of professionals typically comprised of members of the justice system, mental health providers, and other community support systems. And an assigned Judge oversees the treatment and supervision process and facilitates collaboration among team members. Ultimately, with the goal of a Mental Health Court being:

•support participants' triumphant return to society and reduce recidivism; 

•increase public safety; and, 

•improve an individual's quality of life. 

Most studies find that adult mental health courts positively affect participants' rehabilitation and criminal behavior during and after participation. Specifically, studies have found that mental health court participants are significantly more likely to utilize treatment services, less likely to be rearrested, and spend fewer days in jail than nonparticipants. Studying the effectiveness of mental health courts can be challenging due to several factors, including the difficulty of measuring the outcome of rehabilitative services and finding appropriate control groups. As such, continued research will be beneficial for increasing the sample size of studies and determining the lasting effects of MHC participation over time. See Mental Health Courts – Collaborative Justice (ca.gov)