is there is a bill pending from assemblyman night from palmdale that basically what say that anybody who has ever had a drug conviction cannot volunteer in their child's school. there already are laws on the books that allows school districts to criminal background checks, but this would add this permanent exclusion for any -- and i'm not talking only net labs. i'm talking any possession. that is an example of the ever- expanding range of laws that limit people with criminal records. that is ab 2034. >>? there anyone here who can inject a little hope -- is there anyone here who can inject a little hope? we know that there are barriers.

we know the laws are overreaching. we have employers that ignore the laws. so what is the solution, dr. richard s. -- dr. richards? how are we going to turn this around for california and the nation? >> i am actually giving this paper in two weeks in finland at a conference, but just some of our ideas that come out of the convict criminology group. the first is and the war on drugs. just and it. -- just end it. it started in 1960 with richard nixon. it has been going on 50 years. nobody has even kept count of how many people have been arrested -- 10 million, 20 million, 30 million? it sounds like something out of stalin's russia. turn in your neighbors, turn in your friends. if you turn in 10 people, you

get less time in prison. that is what it is, you know? this war on drugs is something out of stalin's russia. and let's stop this war on sex offenders before this gets way out of hand. it is already way out of hand. [applause] i know we are concerned about sexual assault and rape and people assaulting women and children -- i know that. most of the people in prison as sex offenders are not those people. i call them romeo and juliet's. he is 19 and she is 16 or she is 19 and he is 16. that is the most of the mark. let's face it -- we should know, especially in san francisco, that as human beings, we are not really comfortable with sex. some of us do not even know who we are, right? from day to day, right?

you know, i mean, sex is a very complicated issue. the idea that sexual behavior and people's aberrations with it or problems with it or confusions should send them to present for life sentences. in wisconsin, they have the same thing in iowa and illinois -- actually have built prisons just for sex offenders. can you imagine? the entire prison are sex offenders, mostly young men. that is what they are. young men who are confused about their sexuality. as my son was or your son was. i'm going to continue with this, just some of the suggestions we have had. get rid of the word "officer." you have police officers -- isn't that enough? we have, like, 2 million of them. it should be social workers,

correctional workers. parole workers. get rid of parole officers and probation officers all together. i call them resource centers so that when somebody comes out of jail or prison, that it would not matter if they came out of a mental hospital or and mentally retarded group home or they are getting out of jail or sleeping on the streets, when they get out, they go to something called a resourced center for health, and there, there would be social worker people that would help them. it does not really matter if they get out of jail or prison and a sleeping on the streets. i saw the same people in different pieces of their dreams. we provide visitors with a real release program, which means at least money to live for 90 days -- takes at least 90 days, right? to get a job, find a place to

live. they are walking out of prison in many states with zero, no money. mercy releases for ill prisoners. do you know what they do in federal prison? you have hepatitis c or aids or hiv, they lock you in solitary confinement until you die. that is what they do. that is what they do. i have seen marines out of the military prison -- i have seen them in leavenworth dying in solitary confinement. marines. because they got aids or hepatitis c. convert visn's into what i call residential treatment centers. -- convert prisons. knock down the gun towers. take down the razor wires. inspired the corrections officers, the people with badges that make $150,000 a year -- inspire their asses. [applause]

i am all for the union. i do not like their union. what you do is you rehire people back as correctional workers. what happens is in a state of california, where somebody needs help because they contradict or alcoholic or have a bad temper and they are going to be of their wife or sexually assault her stepdaughter -- whatever their problem is, let's do something about crime before they commit the crimes. they have this urge to do something illegal. they call the police and say, "i need help. i'm drug addicted. an alcoholic. please help me." right? they are directed to this treatment center where they can voluntary commit themselves for three to six months. they will do a workshop -- workup on their health. they need a health care

assessment, and social work assessment, they have three to six months in which they work within 24/72 upgrade their behavior is and abilities rather than wait for them to commit a crime and then send them to prison, right? we call these residential treatment centers. the place has 2000 beds. they can treat as many as 8000 people a year. in california, the reason they have so many heroin addicts on the street because you are a heroin addict, you cannot get drug treatment. the only of us who can get it are people with health insurance. anyone will tell you on the

street we need residential drug treatment. take some of these dam presence, take down the gun towers, turned into a residential drug treatment centers -- some of these damned prisons. >> what are your suggestions as to the reform? one area we have not really talked about much is the impact of technology. where is that going now, and how do we need to expend that? how do we deal with the information that is being disseminated, how do we slow that down? are there other areas that also are bleeding into employment and housing, and what is the solution, is my question? he>> there has been a real leadership on the country to come up with smarter ideas, and we have had a lot of good

examples and policies, state and federal for the past 10 years or so, so the reform agenda is not that big a secret. they have been a lot of reports that put it together in one place. i think the real challenge that has been touched on is really leadership, and a lot of it has to do with leadership and people really stepping up in leadership positions, and unfortunately, the politics of the equation are still really complicated. that is what a lot of people are saying. it is so easy to drop a bill and create havoc on thousands of workers, and that is what happens for political reasons. i honestly do not think that -- remember when a trucker -- when the truck below up on the other side of the bay bridge?

there were and million accusations that that trucker had a criminal record and that is why, basically, the truck blew up and we had all these problems, so there were bills dropped in statements made by leading politicians from boxer on down. it turned out his record was very minor and had nothing to do with the driver or anything else. the guy was fine, and he has been working hard to put his life back together. we want to reward that kind of thing. i think it takes a lot of real leadership and there are some great leaders out there and started to staff in addition to political figures. in a lot of credit to civil rights organizations that are starting to do a lot in this area. the naacp, the new director really has made this an important issue, and that is what is going to take. we could run down the list of all the great things there are to do, but we have to push back on this kind of hysteria on

crime, and it takes leadership to do it -- it takes individuals, all of us, to do it as well, to put pressure on leaders, but it takes real leadership to do that. that is how i would put it together all in one place. >> in the vein of what is hopeful, and there is a reentry coordinating council in san francisco and also one in alameda county. what has been helpful to me is i think that overwhelmingly, we have this being tough on crime problem as opposed to being smart on crime, but i think that even in places where you would not expect it, people are starting to make the connection. for example, a lieutenant from the sheriff's department in alameda county is one of the most consistent and supported participants