Beware candidates touting new "tough on crime" policies and hold on to your wallet. Year after year, this state spends a steadily increasing portion of its budget on the prison system without increasing public safety. Yet candidates in each election cycle try to appear ever tougher. Here's one area where California is an anomaly among the states: Since 1979, those who complete their prison sentences are placed on a three-year period of post-sentence supervision, called parole. California stands virtually alone in paroling all prisoners.