Community Corrections

Sharon Aungst, director of the Partnership for Community Excellence, reflects on 2013 and the state of public safety realignment in California

This week, we tackle two more topics intertwined with our inaugural one: the differences between prisons and jails and between Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.

Most of the realignment coverage here assumes a fair amount of knowledge on our readers’ part. Here we take a step back to cover some of the basics.

Words to Deeds’s mission is to “end the criminalization of individuals with mental illness by supporting proven strategies that promote early intervention, access to effective treatments, a planned reentry and the preservation of public safety.”

The most likely to go to jail are those that have been there before; a closer eye needs to be kept on the recently released to make sure they’re taking advantage of the services offered with AB 109 funding, and there has to be a legal mechanism to ensure that. If that doesn’t happen, California is right back where it started.

The way we sentence those who have committed crimes may be the single most important aspect of the criminal justice system we can change

Two studies, one in-state and one national, dominate the world of realignment news this week.

When 2,000 people on probation in Los Angeles County are unaccounted for, it is disconcerting to hear, especially for the public. But as always, there is context to a seemingly gaudy number.