Anew studyby researchers at thePublic Policy Institute of Californiashows that a late move to boil down the Golden State ’s prison population has had footling impact on criminal offense rates across the state . Those findings could bolster efforts to reduce overcrowding behind bar throughout the state .
" I guess probably the most of import takeaway is that country can depend at a major alteration like prison realignment , " saysUniversity of California , Irvinecriminology professor Charis Kubrin , co - editor of the issue that included the study , " and not be disquieted that it ’s going to impact public prophylactic in a major elbow room . "
Kubrin and fellow criminology professor Carroll Serron edited arecent issueof the journal Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science dedicated to studying the impact of a 2011 law that snip the population in land - run prison by more than 20 percent over two age . The practice of law was a reception to a U.S. Supreme Courtruling , in which the high courtyard tell the country ’s prison were so overcrowded that the conditions violated captive ' constitutional right wing . In response , California legislator moved to shift 33,000 non - wild inmate from prison to county jails , probation , into monitored home - liberation syllabus , rehab deftness and into a reformed word system .
" We ’ve see no appreciable uptick in assaults , rapine or murders that can be connected to the prisoners who were released under realignment , " says Kubrin . " This is not surprising , of course , because these offender were eligible for release exactly because of the nonviolent nature of their crimes . "
The research compared crime rates over clip to find short or no shock on violent offense across the state . While the data did let on a small uptick in gondola thefts and other dimension crimes , the researchers find out that the costs of those law-breaking were outweighed by delivery related to decarceration . The research institute that while one year behind bars for one inmate prevents 1.2 auto thefts per year and saves $ 11,783 in crime - associate costs ( acknowledging the impact on the individual dupe ) , it costs the society and California taxpayer $ 51,889 per twelvemonth to incarcerate a prisoner — and that does n’t even account for the further price riffle in the economy due to hardships experienced by the inmate ’s sept .
The case for reprehensible Department of Justice reform is get a whole lotta do it these day . Awide varietyof folks say something want to be done about heavy - handed punishments for non - violent wrongdoer and the prison house - industrial complex that ’s spring up as a result .
There are many reason behind the idea that long stretch behind bars might not be the just way to fight grim - story criminal offense . Prisons are expensive , overcrowdedand sometimes not in the best of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe . Many comparatively minor offenders take on up space behind bars are eventually go bad to be back on the street , and holing them up like hamster in a batting cage might not necessarily help thetransitioninto the existent world .
Still , not everyone is hip to the idea of unfold up the prison doors and throwing out the keys . You do the crime , you do the prison term , as they say . That ’s not to advert the belief that the most certain elbow room to keep someone who has shown a proclivity for law break from doing it again is to keep him incarcerated . This recent enquiry , however , may go a long room in tamping down veneration about letting convict out of the stripey hole at little to begin with than expected .
Of course , this California experiment is n’t without itscritics , who say prison officials are simply shifting the burden from state budget sheet to swelling local jails . But Kubrin argue that something has to be done to combat the incarceration state .
" It ’s meter to start mean outdoors of the loge and start cut back away at these crazy prison house population rates , " she say .
