This month is the Justice Policy Institute (JPI)‘s Bail Reform Month . Their national public education campaign provides research showing that “money bail is a failed policy that does not protect public safety” and leads to unnecessary incarceration in local jails. If you have been following criminal justice realignment in California, this issue is of foremost importance. In California, approximately 71% of the jail population is unsentenced. Many of the detainees are in detention simply…
California is moving in the opposite direction of the rest of the nation when it comes to transferring juveniles into adult court systems. California’s practice of filing juvenile cases in adult court is not congruent with the efforts of many states that are removing youth from adult criminal justice system, strengthening juvenile courts, and changing their transfer laws to ensure youth offenders remain in the juvenile system. A new report from the national Campaign for Youth Justice …
Proposition 36 is a balanced reform measure that promotes long-term public safety. The Proposition amends California’s Three Strikes Law to: ~ Require that the 3rd strike be a violent or serious offense (except in certain sex, drug, and weapons possession cases) ~ Allow nonviolent 3rd strike inmates to petition the court for a resentencing hearing (unless they have a prior conviction for rape, murder, or child molestation) The reform would bring California into line with the 26 other states…
In an era of Realignment, who should be involved in determining the local jurisdictions’ implementation plans? Currently, this responsibility is maintained with the Community Corrections Partnerships (CCP) in each of California’s 58 counties. The CCP is lead by the Chief Probation Officer and includes but is not limited to the District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff and Chief of Police. There is one seat designated for a representative of a community-based organization serving formerly…
Blog Aug 28, 2012
San Francisco leading the way to sentencing reform
In the face of historic opposition to a statewide sentencing commission, San Francisco County established a local sentencing commission January 2012 to address the county’s sentencing policies and practices. Twenty-two states across the U.S. have established sentencing commissions to assist in the development and administration of a fair justice system. Policy makers require strong data-analysis to inform the previous and future decisions centered on sentencing policies and practices. Data…