The Penal Ombudsman: A Step toward Penal Reform

Recent disturbances in prisons across the nation have focused attention on our prison population. Many argue that prison riots are initiated by malcontents, troublemakers, and revolutionaries inside and outside the prison. Others have attributed the disturbances to prisoner frustration with the complaint procedures in the prisons. Assembly Bill 1181, introduced in the 1971 California Legislature, would have created a prison ombudsman for the state prison system. The bill was vetoed by the Governor. This comment discusses the types of complaints made by prisoners, the present remedies for handling these complaints, and the purpose and function of an ombudsman. The penal ombudsman as proposed by A.B. 1181 is then considered by the author and some suggestions are made which may improve the bill if it is re-introduced