Many states are re-thinking their criminal justice policies because of high recidivism rates and public opinion polls showing that a growing prison population has yielded insufficient public safety returns, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.
In 2013, 35 states passed at least 85 bills aimed at reducing prison populations and costs; supporting community-based corrections; using risk and needs assessments; assisting newly returned citizens to the community; and using data-driven research more effectively in criminal justice policy, Vera reports.
Between 2006 and 2012, the total U.S. prison population fell for the third consecutive year. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Hawaii, Michigan and California reported double-digit reductions.
California’s reductions were prompted by a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court order, capping its 34 California prisons at 137.5 percent of designed capacity.
On November 2012, voters passed Proposition 36, which revised the state’s ThreeStrikes Law. The proposition allowed the re-sentencing and release of approximately 2,111 qualifying inmates whose third strike was not serious or violent.
On Nov. 4, 2014, voters passed Proposition 47, which requires misdemeanor rather than felony sentencing for certain property and drug crimes and permits inmates previously sentenced for these reclassified crimes to petition for re-sentencing. Approximately 4,420 inmates have been released under the proposition.
The California Legislature passed a bill that allows inmates whose crimes were committed as minors to appear before the parole board to demonstrate their suitability for release after serving at least 15 years of their sentence.
From Jan. 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015, the board held 717 youth offender hearings, resulting in 204 grants, 440 denials, 71 stipulations to unsuitability, and two split votes that required referral to the full board for further consideration.
In June, 413 inmates were released as a result of a court-ordered good-time credit increases. These inmates earned an average of 110.8 days of additional credit.
Since April 2014, about 2,600 inmates have been released as a result of credit-earning measures.
From Jan. 1 through June 30, some 2,117 non-violent second-strike inmates were referred to the board for review for parole.
The board approved 480 inmates for release and denied release to 472 inmates, while the remainder are pending review.
From Feb. 11, 2014, through June 30, 2015, the board has held 767 hearings for inmates eligible for elderly parole, resulting in 255 grants, 485 denials, 55 stipulations to unsuitability and two split votes that required referral to the full board.
California prison officials report that as of July 15, the 34 state prisons were operating at 3.1 percent (2,554 inmates) below the population cap.
However, prison officials report that the cap was met in part by transferring 2,339 inmates to an in-state private prison in California City. Additionally, 7,277 prisoners doing time under California law are being housed in private prisons out of state.
The Pew Charitable Trust reports that the California inmate population is projected to increase by seven percent by 2018.
Other states projected to increase their prison population are Iowa and Wyoming. Hawaii, Pennsylvania and Louisiana are projected to decrease their prison population
