Placer County District Attorney’s Office asks residents to provide comments on inmate credits and early release policies

Published April 8, 2022

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office is asking for the community to provide public comment to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on their dangerous early release policies.

Specifically, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is seeking to adopt permanent regulations which would result in the early release of thousands of violent offenders and “nonviolent second strikers” through the awarding of credits to inmates serving prison sentences.

Under the proposed regulations, violent offenders could have their conduct credit rate increased from 20% to 33%. Nonviolent second strikers (inmates with a documented history of violence) could see an increase from 50% to 66%.  For example, on a 10-year sentence, an individual could be released after having served only 3 years and 4 months.

CDCR has had these regulations in place for 10 months as “emergency” measures that avoided meaningful public participation in this significant policy change - up until now.

CDCR is required to hold a public comment period before the regulations become permanent. They are also required to consider and address all comments made. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office is calling on all residents to send in public comment and insist that CDCR prioritize the safety of California residents. 

“Recent gang-related shootings have sadly demonstrated the devasting effects of CDCR’s decision to award increased credits to violent individuals,” said Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire. “The opportunity for CDCR to change course and not make these dangerous policies permanent is now, and we need our community’s help.”

In May 2021, District Attorney Morgan Gire along with 44 other elected district attorneys filed a civil lawsuit against CDCR challenging the use of the emergency process for these early releases.

The public comment period regarding this early release/increased credits policy ends on April 13, 2022. Any person may submit written comments about the proposed regulations by e-mail to [email protected] or by mail to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Regulation and Policy Management Branch (RPMB), P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001.

Written comments must be received or postmarked no later than April 13. All written comments must include the rule number, NCR 22-03, OAL Notice File No. Z2022-0215-10

There will also be a teleconference hearing on April 14 at 10 a.m., in which individuals may make comments.  The public is encouraged to participate in the teleconference by dialing 1-877-411-9748 and enter code 6032676. Additional information is available on their website, https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/regulations/category/notice-of-teleconference-hearing/