The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association are co-hosting an unprecedented series of policy discussions in Sacramento with some of the state’s leading correctional experts to help forge a consensus on future corrections policy.  With the continued deterioration of conditions in the state’s prisons, a new urgency has emerged

Recently, the Department of Juvenile Facilities (formerly known as the California Youth Authority) claimed to be in 85% compliance with the consent decree under the Farrell litigation.  This percentage cultivates a skewed perception of the state youth correctional facility’s progress towards reforming into a rehabilitative environment.  In April 2010, CJCJ’s Executive Dire

Death in Decline ‘09 a report by The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California explores life imprisonment as an alternative to the death penalty.  It also makes a correlation between the present financial crisis and fair trials. 

Today is April 20, 2010, also known as 4/20.  Many consider today an unofficial holiday: National Marijuana Day.

Since today is 4/20, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) thought no other day would be more appropriate to educate people on the fiscal and legal implications of legalizing marijuana in California.

The March 2010, the American Constitution Society (ACS) released, “A Just Alternative to Sentencing Youth to Life in Prison Without the Possibility of Parole” that provides three arguments against utilizing life without the possibility of parole for youth.

Senate Bill 399 is the California Fair Sentencing for Youth Act introduced by Senator Leland Yee.

The January 2010 special report from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) titled “The Extravagance of Imprisonment Revisited” analyzes the cost effectiveness of alternative sentencing nationwide, highlighting California, Texas, New York, and Florida.

The recent decision by the three judge panel in the Coleman/Plata case should be applauded as a short but positive step forward in forcing some degree of sanity upon the broken California prison system.  Unfortunately, the fact that a panel of Federal judges was forced to step in and force the state to make long overdue policy decisions is simply another poignant reminder of ou

Just released Criminal Justice Statistics Center 2008 crime numbers and Center for Health Statistics 2007 death figures deal a double whammy to three decades of California’s criminal justice failure. But first, the ironies.

Last month, CJCJ released a detailed study documenting the feasibility, benefits, and cost savings of closing California’s juvenile prison system and transferring its dwindling roster of inmates to county detention facilities.