blog post California’s Jail Population Has Plummeted during COVID-19 By Joseph Hayes, Heather Harris May 8, 2020 All counties have released more people from jail than they’ve admitted, but population decreases vary widely across counties.
blog post A Look at California’s Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Gaps By Caitrin Chappelle May 24, 2021 A new state study identified a $4.6 billion funding gap to resolve safe drinking water problems over five years. We talked to UCLA’s Greg Pierce, the study’s lead researcher, about the findings.
Report Are Younger Generations Committing Less Crime? By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin, Deepak Premkumar Sep 27, 2023 Among Californians born in 1993 and later, criminal offending has fallen 20 to 25 percent compared to previous generations. This shift in longstanding trends is a driving factor behind the overall decline in crime over the last decades and has several broader implications for the criminal justice system.
blog post Video: Are Younger Generations Committing Less Crime? By Vicki Hsieh Oct 13, 2023 PPIC’s policy director for criminal justice Magnus Lofstrom presents findings from a new report examining whether younger generations of Californians are less criminally active than earlier generations and discusses the broader implications of these trends.
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.
blog post Video: A Conversation with Chief Justice of California Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye By Mary Severance Dec 19, 2019 California's chief justice talks with PPIC's Mark Baldassare about the various challenges and opportunities facing the court system today.
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 Land Transitions and Dust in the San Joaquin Valley By Andrew Ayres, Jaymin Kwon, Joy Collins Jul 20, 2022 Agricultural operations and wind erosion are two of the largest sources of dust in the San Joaquin Valley, and the valley’s air quality may decline with increased farmland fallowing and a warmer, drier climate. This will impact low-income, rural communities first and foremost, but proactive management can help identify high-risk areas and direct funding to cost-effective interventions.
