NCJ Number
152291
Date Published
1994
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This report compares California's incarceration rate with those of other countries, critiques the effectiveness of California's corrections policy, and proposes new corrections policies.
Abstract
California currently has 200,000 adult inmates, and the number is steadily growing. The State incarcerates adult offenders at a rate of 626 per 100,000 people in the general population, based on total State institution and jail statistics. In the last 23 years, this rate increased 175 percent. If California were a nation (its population is larger than that of many countries), its incarceration rate and violent-crime rate would lead the world. Even Singapore, which is held up as an example of how a "get tough" approach to crime can work, has one- third the incarceration rate of California. There is no evidence that California's policy of incarceration has reduced the intolerably high incidence of violent crime in the State. California's failed corrections policy is costing the State billions, which drains money from other areas that could assist in creating a safer and healthier society, such as education, enterprise zones, high-tech industries, and statewide transportation. California should reform its sentencing policies to allow more nonincarcerative sentences in a continuum of alternatives to incarceration, as well as provide more funding for crime prevention. 34 notes