The problem is glaring: California jails are overcrowded. America’s War on Drugs and a crackdown on crime in general in the late 80’s and early 90s resulted in the incarceration of thousands and thousands of non-violent offenders. Recent efforts to overhaul the criminal justice center have met with mixed opinion. Governor Jerry Brown, in an effort to dramatically reduce the prison population in California, signed into law Proposition 47, Reduced Penalties for Some Crimes Initiatives (2014), which reduced some non-violent, non-serious crimes to misdemeanor. Nearly 10,000 inmates were eligible for resentencing. The money saved by the release of thousands of prisoners was put into the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. Regulators estimate that $150 million to $250 million were saved under the proposition. Crimes eligible for resentencing included low level shoplifting, grand theft, receiving stolen property, forgery, fraud, writing a bad check and personal use of illegal drugs. Defendants were not released if they had prior violent felony offenses including certain gun charges.
Proposition 57, Parole for Non-Violent Criminals and Juvenile Court Trial Requirements (2016), followed the Reduced Penalties Act. Passed by 64% of California voters, the proposition was designed to further aid in the reduction of prison populations. Two main changes to California law occurred under the Proposition: felons convicted of non-violent crimes were given an increased chance at parole and judges were given the right to decide whether to try juveniles as adults instead of prosecutors.
Ultimately, both propositions aided in the overall reduction of California’s prison population. But, a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California concluded that some of the inmates released since the implementation of the propositions had a higher chance at recidivism. Some individual cities actually saw an increase in crimes including Los Angeles which saw a 9 percent increase including a 60 percent increase in assaults.[1]
As California continues to debate the merits of bail reform, the mixed results of the two prior attempts at Criminal Justice Reform loom heavy. It is unclear whether there is a direct path. Until everyone is guaranteed a seat at the table to discuss the issues, no real reform can happen.
[1] http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/la_county_jurisdictions_show_diverging_trends_during_justice_reform_era.pdf