Policy Panel: The Great Experiment: Realigning Criminal Justice in California and Beyond

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

For the first time in nearly 40 years imprisonment patterns in the United States are shifting. For example, overcrowding in California’s prisons has forced the state to reduce its prison population and enact a controversial new law called “Public Safety Realignment.” This law requires California to supervise many of its offenders at the county level, rather than the state level, unbeknownst to many in the general public. To hone in on the complexities of prison downsizing and decarceration, it is important to examine the different facets that play a part in these processes. To do this, a group of leading scholars from multiple disciplines was brought together to examine the impact of these major changes and their implications for prison downsizing. The findings from this project were published in a recent issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, “The Great Experiment: Realigning Criminal Justice in California and Beyond” (http://ann.sagepub.com), co-edited by Charis Kubrin and Carroll Seron. This panel highlights two themes: (1) key findings from the California experiment, addressing questions such as what effect has Realignment had on public safety, including crime and recidivism rates?; Does the impact of Realignment on public safety vary across California counties, each with its own demographic, economic and political profile?; and (2) consideration of the extent to which Realignment is significant for corrections policy in other states, addressing questions such as was there a "perfect storm" of overcrowding and a strong litigation community that made this possible in California, but might not work in other states?; If Realignment was largely "unbeknownst to many in the general public," did that help or hurt in its implementation?; Are the relatively modest adverse effects on public safety and recidivism sufficient to convince policymakers in other states of the value of such an initiative or is this more a question of political will?

Sub Unit

• Policy Panels

Individual Presentations

• Incarceration and Crime: Evidence from California’s Public Safety Realignment Reform - Magnus Lofstrom, Public Policy Institute of California; Steven Raphael, University of California, Berkeley

• Realignment and Recidivism - Mia Bird, Public Policy Institute of California; Ryken Grattet, Public Policy Institute of California

• The New Gaol: Seeing Incarceration Like a City - Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley

Chairs

• Charis Kubrin, University of California, Irvine

• Carroll Seron, University of California, Irvine

Discussant

• Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project