HEAD OF CA CORRECTIONS JEFFREY BEARD ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION
Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Jeffrey Beard announced he will resign, effective January 1, after serving three years as the state’s top prison official.
In a letter to CA Governor Jerry Brown, Beard highlights some of the progress the CDCR has made over the last several years, including reducing the state prison population below a cap set by a panel of three federal judges, and increasing rehabilitation efforts, which Beard says are “now a demonstrably key priority with the addition of programs in all of our prisons, especially the re-entry hubs.”
In response to Beard’s decision, Gov. Brown praised the prison chief for taking command of the state’s prison system “at a time of great challenge, including overcrowding and numerous federal lawsuits. Thanks to his outstanding leadership, today’s California correctional institutions are safer and more focused on rehabilitation.”
Before Beard was appointed CDCR Secretary in 2012, he spent nearly 30 years with the Department of Corrections in Pennsylvania. Beard was appointed to Secretary of DCP in 2001, where he remained until 2010.