Report Key Factors in California’s Jail Construction Needs By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin May 7, 2014 Now that California has shifted responsibility for many criminal offenders to the counties, county jail systems face greater capacity challenges. This report highlights two important factors in addressing jail capacity constraints: aging jail facilities and long-term needs. We show that a number of facilities are old and likely in need of costly updates or replacement and that growth in the state’s population is likely to exert significant pressure on the county jail system. Our analysis suggests that a thoughtful combination of further jail construction and decreased reliance on incarceration is needed, given the magnitude of the current and future jail needs.
Fact Sheet California’s Prison Population By Joseph Hayes, Justin Goss, Heather Harris, Alexandria Gumbs Jul 22, 2019 Many of California’s inmates live in overcrowded conditions, despite successful efforts to stabilize the prison population systemwide. This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the state’s prisons, highlighting the most current information on racial disparities, health costs, and other key issues.
Report Realignment, Incarceration, and Crime Trends in California By Steven Raphael, Magnus Lofstrom May 19, 2015 When California’s historic public safety realignment was implemented in October 2011, many were concerned about the impact it would have on crime rates. In a 2013 report, we found that realignment did not increase violent crime in its first year, but that it did lead to an increase in auto thefts. In this report, we assess whether these trends continued beyond realignment’s first year. We find that both the prison and jail populations increased slightly since 2012, which means that the number of offenders on the street did not rise from the 18,000 during realignment’s first year. This is likely to change with the implementation of Proposition 47, which further reduces California’s reliance on incarceration. Our analysis of updated state-level crime data from the FBI confirms our previous findings. Violent crime rates remain unaffected by realignment, and although California’s property crime rate decreased in 2013, it did not drop more than in comparable states—so the auto theft gap that opened up in 2012 has not closed. Research indicates that further reductions in incarceration may have a greater effect on crime trends; the state needs to implement effective crime prevention strategies—and it can learn about alternatives to incarceration successfully implemented by the counties as well as other states.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Report Pandemic Policymaking and Changed Outcomes in Criminal Courts By Heather Harris Apr 12, 2023 California’s criminal courts quickly adopted policies to address COVID-19. But uneven adoption around the state affected who might face those policies—as well as whether people were convicted and the sentences handed out. In particular, remote hearings contributed to racial differences in outcomes, which may influence whether such hearings continue.
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.
