blog post Severe COVID-19 Infections May Threaten California’s Prisons By Heather Harris Mar 27, 2020 California invests more than any other state in prisoners’ health. Still, living conditions that make social distancing difficult and other factors could make the state’s prison population especially susceptible to a coronavirus outbreak.
blog post What COVID-19 Budget Cuts Mean for Public Safety Spending By 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.
blog post Expanding Education, Reducing Recidivism By Mia Bird, Amy Lerman Aug 19, 2015 A federal pilot program to allow access to Pell Grants to those incarcerated in prisons could not only expand access to higher education, but it could also improve public safety and reduce correctional costs.
Report Public Safety Realignment: Impacts So Far By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Sep 28, 2015 Prompted by a federal court order to reduce prison overcrowding, California’s 2011 historic public safety realignment shifted many correctional responsibilities for lower-level felons from the state to counties. The reform was premised on the idea that locals can do a better job, and it was hoped that incarceration rates and corrections costs would fall. At the same time, critics predicted crime would rise. Four years since its implementation, realignment has made several important impacts: Realignment significantly reduced the prison population, but the state did not reach the court-mandated population target until after the passage of Proposition 47 in November 2014, which reduced penalties for many property and drug offenses. The reform challenged county jails and probation departments by making them responsible for a greater number of offenders with a broader range of backgrounds and needs. The county jail population did not rise nearly as much as the prison population fell, reducing the total number of people incarcerated in California. Realignment did not increase violent crime, but auto thefts rose. Research so far shows no dramatic change in recidivism rates. State corrections spending remains high, but there is reason to believe expenditures could drop in the future. Realignment has largely been successful, but the state and county correctional systems face significant challenges. The state needs to regain control of prison medical care, which is now in the hands of a federal receiver. And the state and counties together must make progress in reducing stubbornly high recidivism rates.
blog post How California Reduced Its Prison Population By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Feb 6, 2015 The state has reduced its prison population by the court-mandated target, but not—as reform proponents hoped—by a major reduction in costly prison incarceration.
