Facts and Policy Reforms for California
Over the last two decades, California’s criminal justice landscape experienced a huge transition.
Through years of litigation, major legislative initiatives, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandated a limit on the state’s prison population, and 2011 Realignment legislation, the state achieved a marked reduction in the prison population. But this reduction resulted in an increase in the number of people held in county jails.
While some reforms, such as Proposition 47, are aimed at reducing the number of people in jail, substantial work remains for criminal justice stakeholders in California. A significant number of Californians who don’t pose a threat to public safety are still being sent to both jail and prison. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
California can reduce its jail population and continue to reduce its prison population by implementing solutions proposed in this Blueprint. In particular, California lawmakers and voters can reduce jail and prison populations by demanding accountability and transparency from prosecutors, and limiting pretrial detention:
- Pretrial detention should be limited to the narrow public safety exceptions allowed under Article 1, Section 12 of the state’s constitution.
- Ensure that no person is detained pretrial due to their inability to pay cash bail or a commercial bail bond.
- State agencies and county governments, including judges, should focus on supporting a new generation of pretrial services that support people who are released while awaiting trial to come to court.
- Prosecutors should refuse to charge minors as adults, decline to seek life without parole sentences, and prioritize the diversion of people to alternatives to incarceration.
- California lawmakers should also create guidelines for charging and plea-bargaining decisions that rely on the least punitive options while ensuring accountability and safety.
For more information, along with detailed breakdowns of California’s prison population and the reforms needed to reduce it, click here.