Public Safety Realignment - ACLU of Northern California

• Ensure that community corrections practices are based on evidence by collecting andanalyzing data, by identifying best practices from other jurisdictions, and by adjusting bothpolicy and budget decisions based on those findings.• Encourage local courts to utilize realignment’s new sentencing options that authorizejudges to replace all or part of a jail sentence with community sanctions or treatmentprograms, in order to hold people accountable for their actions while supporting theirsuccessful reentry to the community. Successful reentry means less crime and fewer futurevictims.CONCLUSIONCalifornia is at a crossroads. At best, counties will meet realignment with a commitment toreducing over-imprisonment, to protecting public safety, and to wisely allocating limitedresources. At worst, counties will react to realignment as a mere transfer of authority overbodies—and simply incarcerate people convicted of non-serious, non-violent offenses at the locallevel now that they cannot be shipped off to state prisons. Despite spending millions of taxpayerdollars on jail expansion, those counties will quickly see the same inexorable overcrowding and highrecidivism rates that the state prison system has produced.California must not go down that road. The state has an important role to play in facilitating thesuccessful implementation of realignment. But it must act now, ahead of the first full year ofrealignment implementation. State government leaders must show commitment to this public safetypolicy by incentivizing and encouraging best practices through state financial support and oversight.Counties have the opportunity to demonstrate that it is evidence, not past habits, that will produce themaximum public safety reform for taxpayer investment. Unfortunately for some unlucky Californiataxpayers, it appears that some counties remain committed to the same old failed “tough on crime”policies. Fortunately for others, some counties are taking the opportunity to set an example. Successin these counties will demonstrate to the rest of the state that evidence is the way to go. It is time forCalifornia and its counties to fix our broken criminal justice system and take an evidence-basedapproach to keeping our communities safe.43