blog post How California Reduced Its Prison Population By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Feb 6, 2015 The state has reduced its prison population by the court-mandated target, but not—as reform proponents hoped—by a major reduction in costly prison incarceration.
Report California’s Historic Corrections Reforms By Magnus Lofstrom, Mia Bird, Brandon Martin Sep 27, 2016 California has dramatically lowered incarceration—by about 55,000 inmates since 2006—with no broad increase in crime. But recidivism rates remain high and corrections spending continues to rise.
Fact Sheet California’s Prison Population By Joseph Hayes, Justin Goss, Heather Harris, Alexandria Gumbs Jul 22, 2019 Many of California’s inmates live in overcrowded conditions, despite successful efforts to stabilize the prison population systemwide. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the state’s prisons, highlighting the most current information on racial disparities, health costs, and other key issues.
blog post California’s Prison Population Drops Sharply, but Overcrowding Still Threatens Prisoner Health By Heather Harris Mar 2, 2021 The state’s prison population declined by more than 20% in 2020 as authorities took steps to address the COVID-19 pandemic. But some California prisons are still well above capacity, posing potential health risks for prisoners and prison workers.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: California Prison Programs and Reentry Pathways By Heather Harris, Brandon Martin, Sean Cremin, Stephanie Barton Jun 26, 2024 The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) began expanding education, employment, and rehabilitative programs in 2012, setting a goal to meet the needs of 70 percent of eligible people. Although CDCR greatly expanded capacity, most people released from prisons between 2015 and 2019 had not participated.
blog post What Can California Prisons Do When Wildfires Close In? By Heather Harris, Alexandria Gumbs, Joseph Hayes Nov 13, 2020 Two in three prisons across the state are near areas of high fire risk. Especially during the pandemic, safely evacuating prisoners and prison workers in the event of a wildfire can pose challenges.
Report Realignment, Incarceration, and Crime Trends in California By Steven Raphael, Magnus Lofstrom May 19, 2015 When California’s historic public safety realignment was implemented in October 2011, many were concerned about the impact it would have on crime rates. In a 2013 report, we found that realignment did not increase violent crime in its first year, but that it did lead to an increase in auto thefts. In this report, we assess whether these trends continued beyond realignment’s first year. We find that both the prison and jail populations increased slightly since 2012, which means that the number of offenders on the street did not rise from the 18,000 during realignment’s first year. This is likely to change with the implementation of Proposition 47, which further reduces California’s reliance on incarceration. Our analysis of updated state-level crime data from the FBI confirms our previous findings. Violent crime rates remain unaffected by realignment, and although California’s property crime rate decreased in 2013, it did not drop more than in comparable states—so the auto theft gap that opened up in 2012 has not closed. Research indicates that further reductions in incarceration may have a greater effect on crime trends; the state needs to implement effective crime prevention strategies—and it can learn about alternatives to incarceration successfully implemented by the counties as well as other states.
Report California Prison Programs and Reentry Pathways By Heather Harris, Brandon Martin, Sean Cremin Jun 26, 2024 In recent years, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) has expanded programs that support community reintegration. But participation has been low. A new report details the rehabilitative needs of people in prison, CDCR efforts to expand programs to meet those needs, and factors that may affect participation.
Report California’s County Jails in the Era of Reform By Sonya Tafoya, Mia Bird, Ryken Grattet, Viet Nguyen Sep 26, 2016 California’s county jails have been profoundly affected by several reforms over the last decade. Most importantly, in 2011, public safety realignment shifted responsibility for large numbers of non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual offenders from state prisons to county correctional systems. This lowered the state prison population—allowing prisons to prioritize beds for more serious offenders—but increased county jail populations. Three years later, Proposition 47 downgraded a range of drug and property offenses from potential felonies to misdemeanors. The reduced population pressure has allowed jails to prioritize beds for more serious drug and property offenders who are no longer eligible for prison. Despite the growing importance of jails, little is known about the basic characteristics of jail populations. In this report, we analyze state and local data on individuals moving through county correctional systems. Using data from 11 counties, we find that: Reforms altered the offender composition of the jail population, especially among those held on drug and property crimes. After three years under realignment, the number of drug and property offenders in jails increased by 55 percent and 40 percent, respectively. One year after the passage of Proposition 47, the number of drug and property offenders fell by 35 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Length of stay for felony drug and property offenders increased after realignment. For example, median time served for felony drug offenders released in October 2011 was 45 days, compared to 98 days for those released in October 2015. However, length of stay for people who served time for misdemeanors and felony crimes against persons has remained stable. Releases due to overcapacity rose under realignment and dropped after Proposition 47, when jail population pressure eased. The demographic composition of jails has largely remained stable. But the age distribution does show modest signs of change: the share of those ages 18–21 in jail has decreased slightly, as the share of those in their 30s has increased. As jail populations shift toward more serious drug and property offenders, counties and the state will need to consider how jail security and rehabilitative programs might be made more effective. While researchers and policymakers continue to examine the longer-term effects of realignment and Proposition 47, it is also important to keep in mind that the recent reprioritization of jail beds may have implications for crime and recidivism.
blog post Spending on Corrections and Higher Education By Sonya Tafoya, Sarah Bohn Aug 4, 2016 California spends more on corrections and less on higher education today, in relative terms, than at nearly any point in the past thirty years.