To the editor: Your article on the incarcerated firefighters battling L.A.’s wildfires highlights a deeper disaster of misplaced priorities in California.
Whereas it’s heartening to see the general public rally to help these courageous people, we should confront an uncomfortable fact: When 30% of our state’s firefighting power consists of imprisoned people, we’re counting on exploited jail labor to battle a local weather emergency for which we’re woefully unprepared.
These fires expose how California’s obsession with punishment over prevention has left us weak. In accordance with the state Legislative Analyst’s Workplace, we spend about $133,000 yearly to incarcerate one particular person, but we are able to’t correctly useful resource our hearth departments or put money into local weather resilience.
In November, when voters rejected Proposition 6 to finish involuntary servitude in prisons, they endorsed a system that exploits incarcerated firefighters who put their lives on the road with minimal compensation and no staff’ rights.
As these fires rage, let’s bear in mind: Prevention and preparation save extra lives than punishment ever will. California must basically shift its priorities from reactionary responses that exploit the incarcerated to proactive investments that actually defend our communities.
George Galvis, Oakland
The author is govt director of Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice.
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To the editor: In our gratitude to the hundreds of firefighters who’re working to include these wildfires, one group of firefighters has not acquired the popularity it deserves — the inmates of California prisons who’re regionally skilled and skilled.
They do work that’s simply as essential as different firefighters, however it’s virtually unimaginable for them to be employed by native hearth departments as soon as they depart jail as a result of they’ve legal data. That’s absurd.
Having a job to return to reduces recidivism by giving inmates the dignity of priceless work, a revered place locally and an everyday paycheck. On this case, it even reduces the price of coaching new firefighters.
There have to be a technique to rent these skilled firefighters. How can Los Angeles and different cities make the most of this chance to extend their hearth division workers extra simply and at much less value than common?
Maria Simpson, Los Angeles
