Skip to main content

California PACEs Action

California jail population plummets during the pandemic. Could this lead to long-term change? [sacbee.com]

 

By Jason Pohl, The Sacramento Bee, May 27, 2020

California’s long history of altering its criminal justice system — from requiring life in prison for third-strike offenders to reducing the punishment for hundreds of crimes — is having another moment that could dramatically alter how the state locks people up.

In a seismic, almost overnight shift, California has jailed 21,700 fewer people — nearly one-third of its daily population — in county lockups since the new coronavirus hit the state. Prisons are holding about 5,500 fewer inmates than they did in late March.

The state has reduced bail to $0 for low-level offenses and sheriffs have cleared space in their jails to allow for better physical distancing. At the same time, fewer people are being arrested — jails are seeing less than half the number of weekly bookings than before the pandemic.

[Please click here to read more.]

Add Comment

Comments (0)

Copyright © 2023, PACEsConnection. All rights reserved.
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×