Fact Sheet California’s Prison Population By Heather Harris, Sean Cremin Sep 12, 2024 After falling sharply in the first year of the pandemic, California’s prison population is now at a 30-year low. Meanwhile, the average annual cost of imprisoning a person has risen almost 50% since 2019. Most people in California prisons have been convicted of violent crimes; some racial groups are imprisoned at disproportionate rates.
Report Crime after Proposition 47 and the Pandemic By Magnus Lofstrom, Brandon Martin Sep 11, 2024 After some drug and property felonies were reclassified as misdemeanors under Proposition 47, incarceration fell—as did arrests for these crimes. But Prop 47 may not be the most important change to California criminal justice in recent years; pandemic interventions also had lasting effects. A new report examines the impact of both on incarceration, enforcement, and crime.
