[New post] Approaching Rehabilitation and Re-Entry After Working in a California Inmate Fire Camp
Diana Camille Duncan posted: " After receiving training and work experience in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) Conservation Camp Program, those who were previously inmate firefighters face many obstacles in the process of becoming career firefighte"
After receiving training and work experience in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) Conservation Camp Program, those who were previously inmate firefighters face many obstacles in the process of becoming career firefighters. These obstacles hinder them from being able to smoothly re-enter society and be rehabilitated, despite the name of the department they just worked for.
Before facing the challenges of release and re-entry, CDCR inmates face an array of difficulties within their work as volunteer firefighters. Climate change has had aggressive effects on the wildfires throughout California. In 2020, there were a total of 10,000 fires that managed to burn 4.2 million acres, 4% of California's land (Chiu, Roy, Tran, 28). As more and more fires spark, continuously growing in size, there is a greater need for more firefighters. Thus, California increasingly turns towards its incarcerated population. Those working in CDCR Conservation Camps face various health issues due to their line of work. Time Magazine reported that between June 2013 and August 2018, over 1,000 inmate firefighters required hospital care. Compared to career firefighters, those who are incarcerated are more than four times as likely to "incur object-induced injuries, such as cuts, bruises, dislocations and fractures" and are more than eight times as likely to be "injured after inhaling smoke and particles" (Vesoulis). While career firefighters also face these risks, although they are at a lower risk level, they have more options available to them in the way of receiving help. They can receive treatment outside of their job and don't face discrimination from doctors in the same way that those working in a fire camp do. In her article for the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, Maisie Ide mentions that "correctional officers may pressure the doctor to 'put aside their primary goal of patient care for the interests of the security mission' instead" (Ide, 244). Inmates also face discrimination in the pay they receive for their work. Ide reports that those who are incarcerated earn between $2.90 and $5.12 per day with "an additional dollar for every hour of an active emergency". On the other hand, career firefighters "earn $91,000 annually, with $42,000 in overtime and $13,000 in other pay" (Ide, 239). Incarcerated individuals working in CDCR Conservation Camps face repeated discrimination and risks, continuing to be exploited as the magnitude of California wildfires increases.
After gaining training and experience as an inmate firefighter, the process of becoming a career firefighter is extremely difficult for those who have recently been released from their sentence. In California, one must have EMT (emergency medical technician) certification to be a firefighter. However, "ex-prisoners are completely barred from obtaining EMT certification while on parole [and] any released prisoner who has been convicted of two or more felonies is also barred for life" (Stygar, 477). To help combat this hurdle, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the AB 2147 bill in September 2020, allowing "former non-violent incarcerated people who participated in one of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) conservation camp fire crews to have their records expunged to remove barriers so they can seek jobs as firefighters in the community" (CDCR). In order to have their records expunged, individuals must petition a court – a process that is made easier with the help of an attorney. Attorney Giovanni Pesce with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles works to assist previous CDCR firefighters with their AB 2147 cases and inform the court of the law itself as the "Judicial Council of California hasn't even provided judges yet with the proper forms for AB 2147 expungements," according to the Los Angeles Times.
Without proper resources to re-enter society, it is highly likely that individuals will re-enter incarceration instead after their release. (CDCR Prisoners: Jane Tyska/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images; Gate: https://www.tymetal.com/correctional-facility-gates/)
Rehabilitation and a smooth process of re-entry into society are crucial for those who have spent time in prison. A 2021 report for the U.S. Department of Justice examined the recidivism (the chance that an individual will re-offend after being released) of 24 states, including California, from 2008 to 2018. The report found that after the first year following their release, 24.4% of state prisoners had an arrest that led to a conviction (Antenangeli and Durose, 7). With each year following their release, the percentage of state prisoners that had an arrest leading to a conviction continued to increase – with 68.8% of state prisoners being convicted by their tenth year (Antenangeli and Durose, 7). Previous CDCR firefighters should have a greater opportunity for re-entry into society and into the workforce by being able to swiftly join CALFIRE teams. As climate effects worsen, California will continue to rely on firefighters to put out the state's raging wildfires – wildfires that only seem to be getting increasingly large in size and in their difficulty to combat.
B. Chiu, R. Roy and T. Tran, "Wildfire Resiliency: California Case for Change," IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 28-37, Jan.-Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1109/MPE.2021.3122730.
Ide, Maisie. "Behind Bars and Flames: Protecting the Occupational Health and Safety of California's Incarcerated Firefighters." Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, vol. 42, no. 1, 2021, p. 237-256. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/berkjemp42&i=243.
Stygar, Ryan A. "Thinking outside the Box: A Point-Based System of Reintegration for California's Inmate Firefighters." California Western Law Review, vol. 56, no. 2, Spring 2020, p. 455-491. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/cwlr56&i=466.
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