Inmate Firefighters Receive a Chance at Rehabilitation
How 2020 brought policy reform for previously incarcerated firefighters
On September 11th, 2020, California Assembly Bill №2147 became law, allowing formerly incarcerated individuals to obtain EMT licensure. Governor Newsome commemorated the moment by tweeting,
“CA’s inmate firefighter program is decades-old and has long needed reform. Inmates who have stood on the frontline, battling historic fires, should not be denied the right to later become a professional firefighter. Today, I signed #AB2147 that will fix that.”
A small piece of justice within a larger system, the day was regarded as a victory for prison rehabilitation policy advocates.
Yet, just the year before, in 2019, a similar bill was defeated. Thus, a relevant question is: What conditions in the year 2020 allowed for changes in California criminal justice policy that didn’t exist in 2019? Using the lens of John Kingdon’s multiple streams analysis, I argue that special conditions existing in the year 2020 created a window for policy entrepreneurs to push for a change in policy allowing previously incarcerated individuals to obtain an EMT license.
Background on Inmate Firefighters
The state of California has a long history of dependence on inmate labor to fight fires. Beginning in 1915, prisoners were used by the Division to supplement a depleted workforce due to WWII. In 1946, the first Conservation Camp was officially established. As the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) website states, the primary mission of the camps is to “support state, local, and federal government agencies as they respond to emergencies such as fires, floods, and other natural and manmade disasters.”
As of October 2020, 1,800 inmates are working across 43 different Fire Camps. To be eligible an inmate must have “minimum custody” status and may not have a record of sexual offenses, arson, or a history of escape with force or violence. Inmates receive $2.90 to $5.12 a day with an extra $1/hour when working emergencies, as well as two days off their sentence for every one day, worked as a firefighter. The CDCR stresses on their website that inmates must volunteer for service, as “no one is involuntarily assigned to work in a fire camp.” Participating inmates complete 29 hours of in-class training as well as a week of field training exercises.
California relies heavily on inmate crews to effectively fight fires. Several counties use them to assist with local fuel reduction programs, as well as chipping operations and response to emergency operations such as sandbagging, flood recovery, and fire containment. Since 2017, California wildfires have burned almost a million acres, destroyed 31,434 structures, and taken the lives of 128 people. Not only do Conservation Camps send hundreds of firefighters to battle the blazes, but it is also estimated that the state saves approximately $100 million annually through the use of inmates. The inmates risk their lives for the benefit of the state. Rasheed Lockheart, former inmate firehouse engineer and current reentry coordinator for Planning Justice described his experience as an inmate firefighter by stating,
“You are only as valuable as what you save the state, not in the work you do as an individual and the personal changes you make. It’s a little bit of a slap in the face.”
Despite the extensive vetting process to be eligible for the Conservation Camp program, the Fire Fighters Training provided by CAL FIRE, and extensive experience on the frontline of fire prevention, firefighters who were previously incarcerated have not been able to gain EMT licenses until the enactment of AB 2147. The inability for inmates to receive an EMT license after parole was impeding their successful re-entry into society. Before the bill, it took 7 to 10 years of clearance from all charges and parole before even being considered for the license, with a high probability of being denied.
Not being eligible to work at any municipal fire departments because of the restrictions from getting EMT licenses meant there were few narrow pathways for inmates to transition into society. Amika Mota, former inmate firehouse engineer and current policy director for Young Women’s Freedom Center, illustrated why this is such a big issue.
“One option is CALFire seasonal work, it's remote and pretty low pay. You dispatch for months at a time which doesn’t make sense for folks on parole and it doesn’t make sense for someone like me who just spent 7 years away from their children.”
Theoretical Application: Multiple Streams
Multiple Streams Analysis is one of the many theories explaining how policy decisions are made. Authored by John Kingdon in 1984, Multiple Streams Analysis acknowledges that the policy process occurs in a non-linear fashion. The possibility of policy change relies on multiple factors, or as Kingdon outlines, three conceptual streams operating independently.
The first stream, the problem stream, incorporates the factors that cause a policymaker to pay attention to a problem. These factors can be indicators such as scientific studies, focusing events such as natural disasters, or feedback from the public on existing policy programs. A focusing event increases the probability of policy change because of the sudden major shift of awareness by policymakers and the public.
The second stream is a politics stream which changes based on the political environment where the policy change takes place. The majority party of the policymaker, the national mood and interest group campaigns are all factors in determining if policy change will reach the agenda. The bargaining power of groups within the policy process can determine which problems the policymakers turn their attention to. Interest groups advocate for or against ideas they feel passionate about. A powerful interest group working with a positive national mood can move an idea onto the policy agenda, as well as stop an idea from becoming a policy.
The third stream in MSA is the policy stream. Kingdon theorizes that there must be a technically feasible policy alternative. This means a solution to a problem with reasonable limits and greater benefits must be available. Kingdon describes the policy stream as a “primeval soup”, where extreme positions are softened in order to become more appealing to policymakers. To survive in the soup, an alternate policy must have technical feasibility, value acceptability, public acquiescence, financial viability, or path dependence.
Policy entrepreneurs also play a crucial to the policy-making process under Multiple Streams Analysis. A policy entrepreneur is an individual who is an expert on an idea. They are people who invest their time, resources, and energy to promote a policy change they would like to see. A policy entrepreneur must be a leader willing to track the streams to look for a window of opportunity. In Multiple Streams Analysis, the window of opportunity is defined as a policy window. A policy window is only possible when all three streams are in-sync in relation to a problem, allowing for a policy entrepreneur to push a policy change through. A policy window is unpredictable and brief, so the policy entrepreneur must be prepared to act at any time.
Explaining Incarcerated Firefighter Criminal Justice Reform through the Lens of Multiple Streams
Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill №2147 on September 11th, 2020 allowing inmate firefighters to have their records expunged, clearing the path for them to be eligible for firefighting jobs upon release. This is a major step that California has taken towards providing job security for the previously incarcerated. Yet, inmate fire crews have been used for over 80 years and advocacy groups have been fighting for reform for decades. The state’s reliance on inmate labor plays a large part in the continuance of the Conservation Camp program, but until 2020 any motion to provide opportunities to become firefighters after parole for the members of the Conservation Camps was shut down. Using multiple streams analysis, I argue that special conditions existing in the year 2020 created a window for policy entrepreneurs to push for a change in policy allowing previously incarcerated individuals to get an EMT license.
The Problem Stream
The presence of the problem stream in the case of Assembly Bill №2147 lies in the unique challenges for California this year during the fire season. 2020 has been named the worst fire season ever. Five of the largest fires started in the past decade began in 2020, with the largest, the August Complex Fire, burning 1,032,648 Acres of land. The fires are not only affecting California residents. The smoke plumes from the fires are contributing to the worst regional air quality in decades. Visible effects from the fires range from an orange haze covering Portland to a thick smog covering Salt Lake City.
With the enormous demand for firefighters coupled with the release of inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic, California did not have the support it usually relies on from the Conservation Camp Programs. In June 2020, 20 camps were put on lockdown due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 within California prisons, leaving 750 firefighters unable to work. To address overcrowding, many minimum-security prisoners deemed “safe for communities” were sent home. The Conservation Camps comprise many of the minimum-security prisoners. It was reported by CAL Fire that in July 2020, less than half of the inmate crews were active. In response to the demand for firefighters, the state of California had to hire 800 seasonal workers in an “urgency to provide supplemental support.” The lack of inmates available to work drastically handicapped California’s response.
From a multiple streams theory perspective, the 2020 wildfires and the global pandemic are both focusing events that shifted public attention to the need for policy change. Through media coverage and plenty of visual aids, all attention was brought to California and its handling of the wildfires. Both focusing events created a problem stream necessary for policy reform.
The Politics Stream
The existence of a politics stream signifies that actors within the policy community collaborated to place inmate firefighters on the policy agenda. One of the key policy actors, Democratic assemblywoman Eloise Reyes, introduced a bill in 2019 intended to open a pathway to those “who have demonstrated rehabilitation and desire to work as firefighters.” In response to why, Reyes stated,
“I think that after seeing all these young men and women stand side by side with our other fire crews and knowing that they had no hope of entering that profession, I knew that it was wrong and that we needed to do something about it.”
The bill was only intended for legislative purposes but was shut down after widespread opposition from California Professional Firefighters, the state’s largest firefighter union. However, with the overhanging burden of the pandemic and the growing fires, 2020 acted as a gateway to re-launch her motion.
A large coalition of interest groups joined Reyes in improving the lives of inmate firefighters. Many groups have advocated for formerly incarcerated individuals in California to receive greater opportunities for rehabilitation and reentry. Groups such as The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program, the Young Women’s Freedom Center, Planting Justice, and Root and Rebound all see the major criminal justice reform needed in California. Their missions are to provide resources and community to the inmates and their families and restore justice in the communities most harmed by mass incarceration. Advocating for the ability of formerly incarcerated firefighters to receive an EMT license is one of the many ways they can achieve their goals. These interest groups not only brought their ideas to the attention of an assemblywoman but raised awareness in the public too. The problem stream in this case exists because of the bargaining power of the interest groups and the support of an actual policymaker.
The Policy Stream
The policy stream is present because of the nature of the policy change needed. Allowing previously incarcerated firefighters to obtain an EMT license is plausible; a solution to the problem was readily available. The value acceptability and technical feasibility of the policy change are both high. The value acceptability is high because of a traditionally democratic governing body in California, allowing liberal ideas to prevail. The technical feasibility is high because the change would allow inmates to get EMT licensees, meaning the greater potential for employment, overall benefiting the economy. Even with safety concerns by some law enforcement groups, the law would likely benefit first-time offenders, who are less likely to have other disqualifying circumstances, more than someone who has two separate felony convictions that would have to be expunged.
The three streams that constitute Kingdon’s multiple stream analysis all aligned during the 2020 fire season. The worsening fires, rising COVID cases, the bill from Assemblywoman Reyes, pressure from the public to stop the fires, action from interest groups, and the readily available solution to the problem all merged into one policy window. Further, The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program’s executive director and former Conservation Camp member Brandon Smith acted as a policy entrepreneur. The FFRP’s mission is to “increase wildfire personnel from non-traditional and under-represented communities, providing them the training, skills, resources, and experiences needed to secure gainful employment.” Specifically, they believe in providing the opportunity for the previously incarcerated firefighters to “attain gainful employment in the sector once home.”
What’s Next?
Using the stress on California because of the pandemic and the fires, Brandon and his team could influence lawmakers to implement policy based on their goals. With a policy entrepreneur working to push inmate firefighter reform during the policy window, they compelled California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign assembly Bill №2147 into law. The reform makes sense under multiple streams analysis and is a step in the right direction. As Brandon Smith said,
“The first batch of people you should look at are the people who already have the skills, who have already proven they can do the job effectively. We need more firefighters, and we need an opportunity for second chances,” she said. “We need to reward rehabilitation.”
It’s too early to tell how beneficial this policy change will be for the inmates. Questions remain about how quickly the state will process requests for EMT licensure. For now, former inmates pursuing a career in firefighting are just grateful to have one less obstacle in the way.
