BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1066
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1066 (Oropeza) - As Amended: June 23, 2010
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires that the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to conduct random contraband searches of
all employees and vendors entering state prisons at least once
per month for each shift per prison. In addition, this bill:
1)Requires the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to oversee
at least one CDCR search per year at each prison to ensure the
integrity of the process and the accuracy of the reports
submitted pursuant to the terms of this bill, and requires
CDCR to provide the OIG with at least five working days notice
prior to the date of the random searches.
2)Requires CDCR, in consultation with the OIG, to provide a
written quarterly report to the Legislature detailing dates of
searches, shifts, number of employees and vendors searched,
and contraband discovered. The report shall also contain a
general comment section for the OIG and CDCR to discuss issues
relevant to the searches and detailing actions taken as a
result of the discovery of contraband.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Significant annual GF costs, likely in excess of $250,000, to
staff the proposed searches. This assumes at least four
additional staff per search, for one hour at one gate, at 33
prisons, 12 times per year.
2)Annual OIG GF costs would likely be in the range of $50,000
per year, assuming eight hours at 33 locations with follow-up
reporting.
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3)Annual CDCR reporting costs for detailed quarterly written
reports would be about $50,000.
4)In addition, there would be unknown, but potentially
significant annual GF costs for overtime to the extent random
searches backup staff entry into the prison and require staff
to stay on post longer than scheduled. For example, if 400
staff per prison were delayed by an average of 10 minutes, 12
times per year, at 33 prisons, the resulting overtime could
cost the state close to $1 million per year.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to reduce the proliferation
of smuggled cell phones in state prisons. Thousands of phones
are being smuggled into state prisons where they sell for as
much as $1,000. According to prison officials and law
enforcement, inmates can use cell phones to plan escapes,
organize riots, or simply communicate with other inmates.
Smuggled cell phones empower gangs and help organize criminal
networks, many of which are deeply rooted in the prison
system.
2)Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Report . In May 2009, the
OIG published a report, "Inmate Cell Phone Use Endangers
Prison Security and Public Safety." According to the report,
"During 2006, correctional officers seized approximately 261
cell phones in the state's prisons and camps. However, by
2008, that number increased ten-fold to 2,811 with no end in
sight. Inmates' access to cell phone technology facilitates
their ability to communicate amongst themselves and their
associates outside of prison to plan prison assaults, plot
prison escapes, and orchestrate a myriad of other illegal
activity.
"In addition, these devices can provide an inmate unrestricted
and unmonitored access to the Internet, whereby they can
communicate with unsuspecting victims, including minors.
According to the Department, inmates are paying those involved
in smuggling cell phones into California prisons between $500
and $1,000 per phone. There are currently no criminal
consequences for the introduction or possession of cell phones
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in prison, making this activity merely an administrative
violation."
(Year-to-date contraband cell phone discoveries for 2010:
4,939.)
To eradicate cell phone usage, the OIG recommendations include
the following:
a) Continue efforts to seek statutory changes to make the
possession of cell phones in correctional facilities a
criminal offense.
b) Collaborate with state and federal agencies to lobby the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for an exemption in
using cell phone jamming devices.
c) Request resources to conduct airport-style screening
including metal and canine detection, and manual searches
of persons entering California prison facilities
d) Restrict the size of carrying cases brought into secure
areas.
e) Require vendor packages be shipped directly to prisons
and correctional camps.
3)Under current law, possession of a cell phone inside a prison
is not a crime. For inmates, it is a violation of regulations,
which carries a potential 30-day loss of sentence credits. For
staff, possession of cell phones results in discipline that
may range from reprimand, to demotion, to suspension, to
termination.
4)Operation Disconnect. According to the author's office, this
bill is designed to essentially standardize and codify the
random searches conducted by CDCR's office of internal
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affairs, known as Operation Disconnect. According to CDCR
documents, beginning in November 2009, each institution is
charged with conducting "at least one random search monthly."
A sample of the search results for the last quarter (April
through June 2010) show 109 searches, resulting in the
following contraband: 95 cell phones; 67 flash drives; 161
DVDs, CDs or iPods; 78 lighters or matches; 485 miscellaneous
objects.
These 109 searches also resulted in 249 disciplinary letters
of instruction pending review by the warden, and 72
disciplinary referrals to internal affairs.
5)Opposition. The CA Correctional Peace Officers Association
(CCPOA) acknowledge the problem of contraband cell phones, but
contend this bill is incomplete because it does not cover
visitors (though SB 525 (Padilla), pending on the Assembly
floor, makes phones carried by visitors - who currently are
subjected to metal detectors when they enter prisons - subject
to confiscation, and criminalizes possession of a cell phone
for purposes of distribution) and because it does not address
the need for staff to have better access to phones to
communicate with their families while inside the prison.
CCPOA also references the potential costs of random searches
CDCR, which has no official position, has cited several
definitional and process issues, including those referenced
below.
6)Concerns. This bill should be amended to clarify the search
parameters. For example, is the intent of the bill to search
staff and vendors as they enter the security perimeter, rather
than prison grounds? Is the intent to search at each sallyport
entrance? Is the intent to search each staff shift, or the
major custody shifts?
The reporting requirements could also be narrowed and
clarified. It is not clear that quarterly reports are
necessary, nor are written reports, as the CDCR web site may
be a more effective venue. Also, requiring "a general comment
section?to discuss the issues they find relevant to the
searches," including "a section detailing the actions taken as
a result of the discovery of contraband" would likely
significantly delay the proposed quarterly reports, as
disciplinary proceedings can be drawn out affairs.
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Given the state's fiscal situation, the committee may wish to
consider narrowing the bill to reflect a more incremental and
phased-in codification of CDCR's Operation Disconnect.
7)Related Legislation.
a) SB 434 (Benoit, 2009), in addition to authorizing
confiscation of an unauthorized cell phone or wireless
device, would have made it a misdemeanor, punishable by a
fine of up to $5,000 and/or or by a loss of up to two
months in sentence credits, for an inmate or ward to
possess a cell phone or other wireless communication device
or component, or for any person to possess with intent to
deliver the device to an inmate or ward. SB 434 was held on
the Suspense File of this committee due to the
multi-million dollar cost of increased state prison time.
b) SB 525 (Padilla) creates a misdemeanor for possession of
a cell phone or wireless communication device with the
intent to deliver that device to an inmate or ward. SB 525
passed this committee on consent and is pending on the
Assembly floor.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081