Report How Has Proposition 47 Affected California’s Jail Population? By Sonya Tafoya, Mia Bird, Ryken Grattet, Viet Nguyen Mar 30, 2016 Passed by the voters in 2014, Proposition 47 reduced penalties for certain drug and property crimes. This change led to dramatic declines in the state's jail population, driven by decreases in arrests, convictions, and jail time for Proposition 47 offenders. This research was supported with funding from The California Endowment.
Report California’s Future By Ellen Hanak, Laura Hill, Hans Johnson, Caroline Danielson ... Jan 15, 2021 This multi-topic publication highlights the state’s most pressing long-term policy challenges in several key areas: criminal justice, economy, education, safety net, and water and a changing climate.
Report Pretrial Release in California By Sonya Tafoya, Mia Bird, Ryken Grattet, Viet Nguyen May 3, 2017 About 42% of individuals booked on misdemeanors or felonies are released pretrial. For less serious offenses, the most common form of release is cite and release; for more serious offenses, bail is predominant. Our analysis suggests there is room to improve California's pretrial system in a way that could lower incarceration without affecting public safety. This research was supported with funding from the National Institute of Justice.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas Jun 5, 2023 Californians name economic conditions, homelessness, and housing as the most important issues facing the state today. A majority of Californians favor changing state environmental regulations as a way to increase housing affordability.
Report Public Safety Realignment and Crime Rates in California By Steven Raphael, Magnus Lofstrom Dec 10, 2013 Public safety realignment substantially reduced the state’s prison population. Between 2011 and 2012, property crime increased in California as a result of this policy change. Auto theft increased most dramatically, by 14.8 percent—or about 24,000 per year. By contrast, violent crime rates did not appear to be affected. This research was supported with funding from the Smith Richardson Foundation.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Lunna Lopes, Dean Bonner, David Kordus Sep 30, 2015 Some findings of the current survey: Half of likely voters favor extending Proposition 30 taxes temporarily—most support cigarette tax increases. Californians continue to view local water supply as a big problem, but feel better about the way people are responding. Solid majorities of Californians see public pension spending as a problem and most think voters should weigh in on changes to the system. Californians are more supportive of immigration reform, abortion rights, and stricter gun laws than are adults nationwide. Job Approval Ratings: President Obama [PDF] Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] U.S. Congress [PDF] Senator Boxer [PDF] Senator Feinstein [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] Senator Boxer [XLS] Senator Feinstein [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] General Direction of Things in the United States [PDF] Economic Outlook for the United States [PDF] Time Trends for the Mood of Californians: General Direction of Things in California [XLS] Economic Outlook for California [XLS] General Direction of Things in the United States [XLS] Economic Outlook for the United States [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from The James Irvine Foundation.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Rachel Lawler, Deja Thomas Sep 14, 2022 Our latest statewide survey finds that Prop 1 (abortion rights) and Prop 30 (emissions reduction) have majority support, while about one-third approve of Prop 27 (online sports gambling).
Fact Sheet Arrests in California’s Counties By Magnus Lofstrom, Justin Goss, Joseph Hayes, Brandon Martin Mar 28, 2019 Arrests vary substantially across the state, with rural counties often seeing higher arrest rates than urban counties. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of overall arrest rates, arrests for different offenses, and racial disparities in California’s diverse counties.
Fact Sheet Felony Arrests in California By Magnus Lofstrom, Alexandria Gumbs, Joseph Hayes, Brandon Martin Apr 14, 2020 After Prop 47, the share of California felony arrests fell. In this fact sheet we review the most common arrests, for violent offenses and property crimes, and discuss the disproportionate arrest rate of African Americans—who are more likely to be released without charges. Data also shows higher arrest rates in less populous areas and greater racial discrepancies in dense areas.
Report Capacity Challenges in California’s Jails By Magnus Lofstrom, Katherine Kramer Sep 27, 2012 In an effort widely known as "realignment,” California has given its counties enormous new responsibilities for corrections—including authority over many new types of felony offenders and parolees. Rather than go to state prison, these offenders now go to county jail or receive an alternative sanction. In the first few months of realignment, California’s jail population increased noticeably—but many jails were already facing capacity concerns. We find that some offenders who would have been incarcerated prior to realignment are now either not locked up or are not spending as much time in jail. Going forward, counties will need to consider a wide variety of approaches for handling their capacity concerns and their expanded offender populations.
