What Do We Know about Realignment’s Impact So Far?

The fourth anniversary of California’s historic public safety realignment offers an opportunity to assess its major impacts. Has the shift of responsibility for lower-level felons from the state to counties eased prison overcrowding and contained costs? How are county jails coping, and have reoffending rates declined? Has crime increased, as critics predicted? PPIC researcher Magnus Lofstrom will outline the findings of a new report and a panel of state and local experts will discuss realignment’s effect on crime, costs, and incarceration.