Community Commentary:

Since January, more than 1,500 inmates have been released from California jails — after serving only half of the time they were sentenced to and without any supervision. In recent weeks, the legislature has decided this “get-out-of-jail-free” plan might not be the stellar solution to the state’s finances they had hoped for last fall.

Why? Early-release prisoners from across the state have been caught engaging in everything from identity theft to rape and murder.

Some criminals were back on the street only hours before committing new crimes. Liberals pushed through this policy despite warnings by Republican legislators, law enforcement and local communities. Now they are in the humbling position of having to acknowledge that the warnings of their colleagues and law enforcement representatives were right: Early release, even for nonviolent offenders, puts the public at risk.

The Senate recently passed legislation that would reestablish the previous “good time” system under which inmates earn good behavior credits to reduce their sentences. The cost-savings argument used last fall to support the early-release program means very little when innocent victims are raped or murdered by people who should still be in jail.

The bill is being fast-tracked to save those who supported the original early-release policy any further embarrassment for crimes committed by inmates freed early under their parole-free legislation. The problem, they say, is not the law, but law enforcement’s misinterpretation of it. Regardless of how you spin it, California communities will win by having criminals stay in jail, where they belong, and preventing those criminals from victimizing someone else.

That’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Releasing prisoners early to save money is not the only way to bring much-needed dollars into our correctional system. Trimming the Cadillac health-care plan we provide inmates and demanding appropriate compensation from the federal government for the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants are two ideas I have long advocated that should be given immediate legislative attention.

My legislation, Senate Bill 1364, which would allow state and local law enforcement to charge inmates small daily room and board fees or fees for discretionary items while incarcerated, is another solution that should be given serious thought. This same program generated $700,000 for a small county in Massachusetts, yet it was summarily dismissed by California’s Senate Public Safety Committee.

Tougher penalties, not weaker ones, bolster public safety — that should be obvious. By looking outside the box, we can find ways to fund our prisons without risking our safety.

TOM HARMAN is a state senator covering the 35th District, which includes Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley.