criminal justice

An illustration — in blue, orange and black tones — that shows the silouhette of a handcuffed person with various medical records and vials falling around them.

정당성

California prisons have life-saving addiction treatment. Doctors say the parole board is undermining it

Signing up for substance use disorder treatment in California prisons involves taking more frequent drug tests. The results, which are prone to error, can set back a prisoner's chance for freedom.

에 의해

케일라 미할로비치

• 2월 19, 2026

Students hang out at the Shop 55 Wellness Center at Oakland High School in Oakland on May 10, 2024. Oakland High is able to offer a variety of medical services to students through the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP). Photo by Juliana Yamada for CalMatters

논평

Community schools are key ingredient of California’s tumbling crime rates

Community schools are becoming neighborhood hubs by prioritizing academics, youth and family services, mental health and restorative justice.

By Castle Redmond and John H. Jackson • 2월 17, 2026

A person with a beard speaks at a podium holding a photograph, with others standing nearby, flags behind them, and several printed photos displayed in the foreground.

Investigation

‘It’s time’: California leaders unveil biggest crackdown on drunk drivers in decades

A bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers has introduced 10 bills, an unprecedented package designed to stop deadly drivers.

에 의해

Robert Lewis

그리고

로렌 헤플러

• 2월 12, 2026

A silhouette of a person standing in a dimly lit prison cell with white walls, cabinets, and a mirror hanging.

Reader Reactions

Good behavior musn’t determine if a California prison inmate lives in a safe environment

An incarcerated person's constitutional right to a safe and healthy environment in a single occupancy cell cannot be withheld on the condition that she or he be good.

By Arthur Jackson • 2월 12, 2026

A close-up view of a person's hand holding a sign that reads "We wants answers! No more deaths!" and they stand at the front steps of a building surrounded by other people holding signs.

논평

California promised accountability for inmate deaths in jails. A year later, no results.

Lawmakers passed a law creating a state department to review inmate deaths, but it hasn’t completed a single death review in its first year.

By David Myers • 2월 11, 2026

논평

Tax dollars should fund children’s education, not attorneys’ fees in child sex abuse cases

California school districts could be on the hook for about $3 billion in liability for child sexual abuse lawsuits. Up to 40% may go to trial attorneys.

By Edgar Zazueta • 2월 9, 2026

Backpacks hang in wooden cubbies inside an elementary school classroom, with several children in red shirts and khaki pants sitting on the carpeted floor in the background.

논평

Will California lawmakers break their promise to child sexual abuse survivors?

In 2019, the Legislature and Gov. Newsom closed a loophole that allowed schools to avoid liability for child sexual abuse. Now the law is under threat.

By John Manly • 2월 9, 2026

An empty judge’s bench inside a wood-paneled courtroom holds a stack of papers, folders, and a small bottle of hand sanitizer beneath a red-tipped microphone, with warm brown walls filling the background.

논평

California judges defend their independence and the rule of law

President Trump, Gov. Newsom and other politicians pressured judges. But judges say they can’t bow to political or popular will, only to the law.

에 의해

Robert Greene

• 2월 3, 2026

Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies at a crime scene in Sacramento on Feb. 28, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, Sipa USA via Reuters

정당성

Cops have to treat marijuana in your car differently after new California Supreme Court ruling

If you can't easily consume it, having marijuana in your car does not give California police the right to search the vehicle.

에 의해

나이젤 두아라

• 1월 29, 2026

People stand in front of a row of tents along the sidewalk of a street. The tents are decorated with various words and graffiti.

논평

It ‘took a village’ to heal her trauma and homelessness. Will California keep funding this help?

California’s Prop 36 has put at risk the funding stream for the state’s 24 Trauma Recovery Centers, which provide a variety of services to crime victims.

By Kathy Brown-Lowe • 1월 26, 2026

Criminal Justice