Criminal Justice

California’s public schools lost more than 160,000 students amid the pandemic, the largest enrollment drop in two decades and a likely harbinger of serious educational and financial challenges. The sharp 2.6% decline, announced Thursday by the California Department of Education, doesn’t capture the full effects of the pandemic. The enrollment tally comes from a one-day […]

A CalMatters investigation found that at least 1,300 people have been locked in county jails for longer than three years awaiting a trial or sentencing. The findings are “surprising and embarrassing,” said State Sen. Tom Umberg, chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Law enforcement’s indifference to a rape kit backlog reporting requirement is stunning; Legislature should hold agencies accountable.

Across California, 44,241 people are being held in a county jail without being convicted or sentenced for a crime. That’s three quarters of all inmates. At least 1,317 people have been waiting in county jails for more than 3 years. For 332 of them, it’s been longer than 5 years. In 32 counties that gave […]

Assembly Bill 988 would lay the groundwork for a 988 mental health crisis hotline, creating an alternative to 911.

Police executives and scholars assert the complexity of 21st century policing demands a college degree.

The state’s highest court now says judges must consider a defendant’s ability to pay, but mass inmate release unlikely.

Good morning, California. It’s Thursday, March 25. Bonta a win for progressives By nominating Assemblymember Rob Bonta to be California’s next attorney general, Gov. Gavin Newsom is priming the state to take a significantly different approach to criminal justice — one that could help him shore up progressive support ahead of a likely recall election, […]

By eliminating sentencing enhancements, we can incentivize positive behavior at maximum-security prisons like Pelican Bay.

Health care operations company OptumServe has quietly been assuming an ever-larger role in California’s pandemic response — including its vaccine rollout — despite numerous counties expressing dissatisfaction with its services. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced plans to open 11 OptumServe vaccination sites to serve “some of the hardest-hit or most at-risk communities” in the […]