CLASSIFIED AS LOW-RISK OR NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS (6)

Paco notes that state corrections officials said Thursday that an inmate’s street gang affiliation is not considered when determining how to classify and monitor parolees like the one who allegedly shot an LAPD officer during a traffic stop in the San Fernando Valley. This causes me to wonder under what rock those officials crawled from?
　
LAPD STEAMED OVER CDCR PAROLE POLICY
By Bob Walsh
　
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
July 15, 2010
　
The LAPD has sent a formal letter to CDCR asking just what in the hell is going on.
　
Specifically, they are pissed over the case of Javier Joseph Rueda, 28, of Panorama City. He tried to kill two LAPD officers over the weekend. They are trying to figure out how he got early release and why he was classified as a low-level, non-violent, non-revocable parolee.
　
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck expressed his concern over how Rueda managed to achieve this status after two years of a ten-year sentence. Specifically, Chief Beck asked, "If you determine that there were issues regarding Mr. Rueda’s status, we would appreciate your feedback on how we can work with you to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur." I’m sure he is waiting patiently and expectantly for a response letter from [Corrections Secretary] Matthew Cate.
　
Paul Weber, President of the LAPPL (Los Angeles Police Protective League, their collective bargaining agent) was a little less PC and more direct. "We have repeatedly warned for months that its only a matter of time before the Department of Corrections ‘non-revocable’ parole policy - which pushes prisoners back onto the streets and prevents their return to prison - enables a parole to kill a police officer or an innocent member of our community." It should be noted that in the recent past a LAPD and LASO officer have been murdered by a non-violent, non-serious (but not non-revocable) parolee, as has a 4-year old boy.
　
Rueda was terminally rehabilitated by the cops, both of whom were hurt in the exchange of shots. Rueda, aka Ghost and Jayboy, was a member of the Vineland Boys gang. He had been doing a ten-year stretch for evading an officer, car theft, possession of a silencer and possession of a controlled substance while armed. He began the sentence in 2007 and got out in less than 3 years.
　
The LAPD and LAPPL also have issues with the new and improved, computerized threat assessment tool currently in use. Of the first 600 felons classified using this system, 240 had to be reclassified as a higher risk. As far as I know, not all of them have yet been officially contacted and placed back on supervised status.
　
Weber also said, "We are putting the CDCR on notice now-don’t you dare come to an officer’s funeral and tell us how sorry you are that one of your parolees, who should have been in prison, killed a police officer. Your chance to make amends is now, when you can correct the problem before someone else is hurt or killed and scrap a policy that puts officers and the public in danger."
　
The problem with Weber’s obviously heart-felt statement is that the CDCR parole police is not even remotely interested in public safety or officer safety, it is interested in controlling institution population and saving money, or at least shifting costs away from the state. It is nice, however, to note that in organizations where the chiefs and the grunts all have similar background the chiefs and grunts tend to feel the same way about many things. Their organization is run by a cop, who is also a competent administrator. Our organization is run by a lawyer, whose chief advisors and deputies are lawyers. It makes all the difference in the world.
　
UPDATED INFORMATION: On July 14, the same day the LA Chiefs letter and the LAPPL press release came out, a memo to all Region III [parole] staff went out advising caution when interacting with parolees identified as Vineland Boys street gang members. Perhaps Region III is acknowledging that the RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] case against the Vineland Boys and the murder and series of attempted murders of police officers may have upped the ante a bit. Better late than never I guess. I wonder if the new and marvelous computer threat assessment tool will be updated, revised, scrapped or whatever?