In recent years, California has enacted various criminal justice reforms that have reduced the number of people incarcerated by the state and placed a greater emphasis on crime prevention and pathways to rehabilitation. Yet, even with this progress, state prisons remain overcrowded, spending on state corrections remains high, and racial and ethnic disparities persist.
This chartbook discusses the recent reforms, the key challenges still facing California’s corrections system, and the prospects for — and potential impacts of — further reforms.
