The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

After a housing boom abruptly ended in the 2008 financial crisis, Stockton became the
largest U.S. city to declare bankruptcy. The number of officers in the city’s police
department shrank by more than 20 percent. In Stockton, the police union put up signs
around town: “Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California: Stop laying off
cops!”
In 2011, California lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 109, known as “realignment,” which
shifted responsibility for thousands of people convicted of nonviolent crimes from state
prisons to counties. People convicted of nonviolent crimes would now serve sentences
in county jails, not prison, and local communities, rather than state parole, were
responsible for supervising them upon release.
As part of AB 109, the state promised to shift billions of dollars to the counties. San
Joaquin County decided to use its money—about $6.8 million in the first year—on its
day reporting center; specialty courts aimed at helping former prisoners transition back
to the community; and expanded use of a risk assessment tool to rank each former
inmate’s likelihood of committing new crimes.
The county tracked data on each person affected by the new laws. James said she
noticed the vast majority of arrests of former prisoners were for property crimes. To her
relief, the county’s homicides fell by nearly 50 percent in 2013.
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