Back To the Drawing Board For Plan That Would Put Violent Offenders On Firefighting Lines

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — After widespread pushback, state corrections officials are backpedaling on a proposal that would have put inmates with violent histories on the front lines of wildfires.

The plan floated on Monday drew criticism from law enforcement and lawmakers, leading the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to change course on Tuesday, dropping the proposal for now.

A Republican lawmaker called the idea to make some violent offenders eligible for the state's inmate firefighter program unconscionable. The state firefighters union questioned if it was worth the risk for fire crews or the public.

CDCR said it was looking at the proposal as a way of bolstering the state's critically important, but gradually dwindling inmate firefighting force. Realignment laws are shifting low-level criminals to local jails instead of state prison, or putting them on parole.

But corrections officials abruptly pulled the plug, telling CBS13 in part, "CDCR will continue to consider for the camps only inmates who have been assessed as presenting a low risk of violence. Inmates who commit the most serious crimes, such as murder, are and will remain ineligible to work in the camps."

CDCR says the risk assessment is based on both the criminal history and the inmate's behavior.