PPIC BlogNews and Analysis of California Policy View by topic Climate Change/Energy Criminal Justice Economy Fiscal & Governance Reform Health & Human Services K-12 Education Political Landscape Population PPIC Higher Education Center PPIC Statewide Survey PPIC Water Policy Center All NEVER MISS AN UPDATE! Sign up for our blog alerts to receive insights from PPIC by email. Comments jails Rising Jail Populations Mean Rising COVID-19 Infections Heather Harris October 19 2020 Populations in California’s county jails are on the rebound, which could put people in jails and in surrounding communities at increased COVID-19 risk. Read More California’s Incarcerated Population Plunges to New Low during COVID-19 Heather Harris, Alexandria Gumbs, Joseph Hayes August 19 2020 The number of people in California’s prisons and jails has declined substantially since February. Still, most state prisons remain overcrowded, and many counties have seen recent increases in jail populations. Read More Progress under Prop 47 but Racial Disparities Persist in California Arrests Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin June 4 2020 A key voter-approved reform has decreased arrests disparities between African Americans and whites, but a significant and pervasive divide remains. Read More What COVID-19 Budget Cuts Mean for Public Safety Spending Brandon Martin, Magnus Lofstrom May 22 2020 The sharp decline in state revenues means county sheriff and probation departments will have less funding to provide supervision and programming for certain individuals who are in jail or on probation. Read More California’s Jail Population Has Plummeted during COVID-19 Joseph Hayes, Heather Harris May 8 2020 All counties have released more people from jail than they’ve admitted, but population decreases vary widely across counties. Read More