Magnus Lofstrom is policy director of criminal justice and a senior fellow at PPIC. His research focuses on crime, policing, racial disparity, recidivism, and impacts of criminal justice reforms. His areas of expertise also span immigration, education, and entrepreneurship. His research has been published in numerous academic books and journals, including Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of Economic Perspectives, Journal of Human Resources, and Review of Economics and Statistics. He serves on the editorial board of Industrial Relations and was a member of then–California State Controller John Chiang’s Council of Economic Advisors. His work has been cited in numerous media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, The Atlantic, and The Economist, as well as National Public Radio. Prior to joining PPIC, he was a faculty member at the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of California, Irvine. More recently he has taught at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his PhD in economics from the University of California, San Diego.

Brandon Martin is a senior research associate at the Public Policy Institute of California. His research focuses on crime, policing, prison and jail populations, and the impacts of criminal justice reforms. Recent work includes examining generational shifts in criminal offending and exploring racial disparities in law enforcement stops. His research has been published in Criminology and Public Policy and cited in numerous media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, and local public radio in Sacramento and San Francisco. He holds an MA in political science from the University of California, Davis and a BA in political science from Michigan State University.