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Fact Sheet

Crime Trends in California

By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin

Violent crime in California has ticked up in recent years, with a pronounced increase in incidents involving guns since 2019. Property crime has also risen steadily statewide, and rates now stand slightly above pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

Report

Preparing Students for Success in California’s Community Colleges

By Hans Johnson, Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez

Community colleges identify 80 percent of incoming students as underprepared for college-level work. Fewer than half of these students advance to and succeed in a college course (44% in English and 27% in math). Concerns about poor outcomes have led to institutional reforms.

This research was supported with funding from The Sutton Family Fund.

blog post

Budget Surplus Divides Californians

By Dean Bonner

While most Californians hold an optimistic view of the state budget, they are divided on how to spend a historically large surplus.

Report

Racial Disparities in Law Enforcement Stops

By Magnus Lofstrom, Joseph Hayes, Brandon Martin, Deepak Premkumar

Recent debate over police reforms has centered on how law enforcement engages with people of color, prompted by continuing concerns over racial inequities in criminal justice. In our analysis of data for nearly 4 million stops, we examine how interactions—ranging from search to use of force—differ for Black and white people, while considering factors such as stop context and law enforcement agency.

event

Farmland in Transition: The San Joaquin Valley

As the San Joaquin Valley works to bring its groundwater basins into balance, hundreds of thousands of acres of irrigated farmland may come out of production. How do we manage all this newly fallowed land? Our latest research examines whether water-limited agriculture might help ease the transition—and what other management practices could mitigate dust and air quality concerns in the valley.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Californians are divided on how to spend the budget surplus. But a majority of likely voters (57%) prefer to pay down state debt and build up the reserve, while just 39 percent prefer to restore funding for social services.
  • Californians continue to express distrust in state and federal government; most think both are run by a few big interests looking out for themselves.
  • A slim majority Californians oppose the increased use of fracking; 46 percent favor building the Keystone XL pipeline.

Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [PDF]
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]
U.S. Congress [PDF]
Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [PDF]
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
President Obama [XLS]
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]
U.S. Congress [XLS]
Their Own State Legislators in the Assembly and Senate [XLS]
Their Own Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives [XLS]

Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [PDF]
Economic Outlook for California [PDF]

Time Trends for the Mood of Californians:
General Direction of Things in California [XLS]
Economic Outlook for California [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.

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