Prop. 47: ‘Reckless experiment’ or hope for criminal justice reform?
Originally posted in the Los Angeles Daily News.
From the article:
Researchers noted that California counties experiencing greater decreases in prison and jail populations did not report greater increases in crime, between October 2014 and October 2015.
Kings and Glenn counties, for example, showed declines in their jails by a rate of 66 inmates per 100,000 residents. They found violent crime decreased by 1 percent in Kings County. In Glenn County, both its violent and property crime rates fell by 16 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Burglary fell 4 percent across the Golden State, said Mike Males, the lead researcher of the study, whose organization works to reduce the use of incarceration.
Riverside County, for example, saw its prison population drop at a rate of 32 inmates per 100,000 residents. In that same time, they saw an 11 percent decrease in burglary. In San Bernardino County, where violent crime rose to 19 percent, burglaries had dropped by 4 percent.
Read the CJCJ report “Proposition 47 and Crime in 2015: A County-Level Analysis” »
Related Links:
Is Proposition 47 to Blame for California’s 2015 Increase in Urban Crime?