California officials say that the state’s 31 prisons are necessary to accommodate the fluctuating inmate population. Analysts say the cash-strapped state could save money by closing five more.
Do cameras on our porches, at traffic lights, in our parks and along our streets really contribute to our overall security? The data are unpersuasive.
A pilot program would provide $3,000 to people leaving Colorado prisons for basic living expenses if they agree to participate in a workforce development program. The proposal faces an uphill battle in the Legislature.
A Review Board will review five death cases within San Diego County jails, two of which involved inmates who were wrongfully jailed. The sheriff isn’t required to adopt or implement any recommendations from the board.
Last year’s 17 percent decline in homicides and 10 percent drop in nonfatal shootings contributed to a decrease of about 3 percent in reported violent crime overall. However, both property crimes and auto thefts did increase.
Locking up a California state prisoner for one year costs nearly twice as much as tuition at the state’s top private universities. The number surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains high because of inmate medical costs and pay boosts for prison guards and other workers.
Inmate Kenneth Eugene Smith has appealed a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that would allow his execution through the use of nitrogen gas, a method which has never been used on a human before.
Most states set repayment periods for criminal fines, fees and restitution far longer than they do for consumer and civil debt — in some cases for decades. The consequences are severe.
Is crime out of control? The homicide rate went down 12 percent last year. Still, there’s more than one kind of crime, more than one data set and more than one way to spin things.
The laws target low-income and minority renters for eviction, violate their civil rights and fail to reduce crime.
States define recidivism differently, which can result in misleading interpretations of the statistics.
For five decades, Idaho has been putting mental health patients into prisons, despite receiving 14 notices that it needs a secure mental health unit that is not a prison.
The Dallas native was the state’s first Black district attorney and used DNA testing in cases, leading to about two dozen exonerations. His Conviction Integrity Unit has been nationally and internationally recognized.
Effingham County, Ill., has seen a decrease in the number of inmates and a reduction in caseloads just three months after the state ended cash bail. However, the long-term impacts of the end of cash bail remains to be seen.
States around the country are enacting common-sense, bipartisan reforms that will help break the cycle of poverty, crime and incarceration, making our system fairer and our communities safer.
States are passing new laws to combat retail theft, though government data doesn’t show that it is actually increasing. None of the new laws are likely to reduce crime and could disproportionately impact marginalized groups.
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