Beyond Bars: Correctional Reforms to Lower Prison Costs and Reduce Crime

In this report, the Commission discusses actions that the State can take to develop an integrated county-state correctional system that focuses on reducing crimes committed by felons after they are released.

During its review, the Commission found that after more than a decade of investing in new county jails and state prisons, California faces an inmate overcrowding crisis that worsens each day. Over the last decade an increasing percentage of a growing population has been sentenced to state prison, and correctional officials see that trend continuing into the forseeable future. The Commission also found an increasing percentage of felons, once paroled, are returning to prison having failed to successfully reintegrate into society. 

The Commission recommends creating a new multi-faceted correctional strategy where California's correctional agencies think, plan and act as a coordinated system — county and state, youth and adult. The Commission also recommends maximizing existing facilities and expanding facilities through competitive procedures.