Crime

Bill to Reform Solitary Confinement in State Prisons

Published

12 years ago

April 8, 2014

A bill by Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) to revise and reform solitary confinement conditions in California’s prisons passed its first legislative hurdle this week.

The Senate Public Safety Committee approved SB 892 by a vote of 6-1, with Republican support. It now goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee before heading to the Senate floor.

;“Isolating large numbers of inmates for long periods of time as we are currently doing is an expensive and deeply troubling practice that undermines effective rehabilitation and long-term public safety,” Senator Hancock said.

“There are many, many problems with the current solitary confinement system,” Hancock continued. “It is ineffective at controlling gang behavior in prisons; useless in helping to rehabilitate prisoners; costly to taxpayers; and a threat to public safety when inmates are released directly to the streets after years – sometimes decades – of solitary confinement.

The bill will institute specific reforms to the solitary confinement process, including:

Establishing independent, outside oversight by requiring the Office of the Inspector General to review indeterminate solitary confinement detention cases and to conduct regular reviews of each inmate serving an indeterminate SHU term.

Strengthening integrity in the system by requiring CDCR to provide inmates with an advocate throughout the SHU detention process, and creating a new position specifically to assist inmates and their families with issues such as visitation rights and access to support networks.

Prohibiting the placement of seriously mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement, and require that every inmate in solitary confinement be evaluated by a mental health professional every 90 days.

Establishing “Exit Roadmaps” by creating individual rehabilitation plans for all SHU inmates, and re-entry plans for inmates who may be paroled directly to the street from solitary confinement.

Establishing more humane conditions in solitary confinement by providing inmates with physical and mental stimulation, including opportunities to interact with other inmates and staff, access to educational programs, and creating an incentive program for inmates to earn privileges such as a monthly phone call, photographs or yard time.

“These reforms are necessary to bring California into the mainstream of modern corrections practice,” Senator Hancock stated. Other states – from Mississippi to Maine – have already significantly reduced the use of solitary confinement. My proposal will strengthen safety, security and stability in the prison system while also creating effective rehabilitation opportunities in a humane environment,” Hancock said.

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Related Topics:CDCR Loni Hancock Office of the Inspector General SB 892 Senate Appropriations Committee Senate Public Safety Committee SHU

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

2 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.