Report: California Freed 450 High-Risk Parolees
SACRAMENTO (AP) — The California prison system's independent inspector general says the state improperly freed more than 450 dangerous criminals without supervision last year as part of a controversial program designed to reduce prison populations and cut costs.
A faulty computerized risk-assessment program predicted the offenders could be released under the state's non-revocable parole law that took effect in January 2010.
But in a report released Wednesday, the inspector general says about 1,500 offenders were improperly released, including 450 "who carry a high risk for violence."
The law was designed for less serious offenders. Under non-revocable parole, offenders don't report to parole agents and can't be sent back to prison unless they commit new crimes.
The corrections department disputes the findings and says they are outdated.
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