How Rural California Counties Have Been Impacted by California's Public Safety Realignment

• In Event: Incarceration and Reentry in Context: The Removal, Return, and Supervision of Offenders in Rural and Urban Areas

Abstract

In Fall 2011, California’s Public Safety Realignment was enacted, in which responsibility for non-serious, non-violent, and non-sex offense felons was transferred from the state to the local county level. Part of the impetus for this shift was the belief that local government is the most effective and that county officials can tailor programs to local needs and priorities. Realignment resulted in the reduction of tens of thousands of state inmates, however, it also increased the numbers of felons being housed in local jails for long periods of time and offenders being supervised by county probation. Realignment legislation included no funding for evaluation, however, a number of studies have examined various aspects, including a study of overall system actor perceptions of its implementation, the estimated impact on California’s crime rate, as well as recidivism rates as a function of county focus on rehabilitation. This paper will address one of the ongoing discussions in the state about how California’s more rural counties, which lack the realignment funding and service infrastructure of larger counties are faring. We will examine implementation, relative focus on surveillance vs treatment, and potential effects on recidivism and crime rates for rural, contrasted with urban counties.

Author

• Susan Turner, University of California, Irvine