Report Key Factors in Arrest Trends and Differences in California’s Counties By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin, Justin Goss, Joseph Hayes Sep 9, 2019 Arrests in California have declined in the last few decades—driven by lower crime rates and criminal justice reforms. While rural, poorer counties tend to have higher overall arrest rates, affluent counties often see larger racial disparities in arrests.
press release Decline in Statewide Arrest Rate Driven by Lower Crime Rates and Criminal Justice Reforms Sep 9, 2019
Report Recidivism of Felony Offenders in California By Mia Bird, Justin Goss, Viet Nguyen Jun 19, 2019 California’s recent corrections reforms aimed to reduce persistently high recidivism rates. In the years following public safety realignment in 2011, have rearrest and reconviction rates for felony offenders changed?
blog post A Closer Look at Women’s Arrest Rates By Magnus Lofstrom, Justin Goss, Joseph Hayes, Brandon Martin Apr 3, 2019 A recent PPIC report found that while arrest rates in California have declined for both men and women since 1980, they have dropped significantly more for men than for women.
blog post Video: New Insights into California Arrests By Mary Severance Dec 11, 2018 Last week in Sacramento, PPIC researchers outlined findings from a new report about trends in arrests and moderated a panel discussion, putting these trends in the context of state legislation and local police-community relations.
interactive Arrests in California Dec 3, 2018 PPIC’s interactive maps highlight arrest rates across California—and show stats by county, demographic disparities and time trends.
Report New Insights into California Arrests: Trends, Disparities, and County Differences By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin, Justin Goss, Joseph Hayes Dec 3, 2018 Over the past few decades, arrests have declined dramatically—especially for misdemeanors. Though racial disparities have narrowed, the gap between African Americans and whites remains substantial. In 2016, the arrest rate for African Americans was three times the white arrest rate.
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.
Report California’s County Jails in the Era of Reform By Sonya Tafoya, Mia Bird, Ryken Grattet, Viet Nguyen Sep 26, 2016 California’s county jails have been profoundly affected by several reforms over the last decade. Most importantly, in 2011, public safety realignment shifted responsibility for large numbers of non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual offenders from state prisons to county correctional systems. This lowered the state prison population—allowing prisons to prioritize beds for more serious offenders—but increased county jail populations. Three years later, Proposition 47 downgraded a range of drug and property offenses from potential felonies to misdemeanors. The reduced population pressure has allowed jails to prioritize beds for more serious drug and property offenders who are no longer eligible for prison. Despite the growing importance of jails, little is known about the basic characteristics of jail populations. In this report, we analyze state and local data on individuals moving through county correctional systems. Using data from 11 counties, we find that: Reforms altered the offender composition of the jail population, especially among those held on drug and property crimes. After three years under realignment, the number of drug and property offenders in jails increased by 55 percent and 40 percent, respectively. One year after the passage of Proposition 47, the number of drug and property offenders fell by 35 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Length of stay for felony drug and property offenders increased after realignment. For example, median time served for felony drug offenders released in October 2011 was 45 days, compared to 98 days for those released in October 2015. However, length of stay for people who served time for misdemeanors and felony crimes against persons has remained stable. Releases due to overcapacity rose under realignment and dropped after Proposition 47, when jail population pressure eased. The demographic composition of jails has largely remained stable. But the age distribution does show modest signs of change: the share of those ages 18–21 in jail has decreased slightly, as the share of those in their 30s has increased. As jail populations shift toward more serious drug and property offenders, counties and the state will need to consider how jail security and rehabilitative programs might be made more effective. While researchers and policymakers continue to examine the longer-term effects of realignment and Proposition 47, it is also important to keep in mind that the recent reprioritization of jail beds may have implications for crime and recidivism.
