Californians are realizing that being smart on crime makes a lot of sense and saves a lot of dollars. Nonviolent felonies like shoplifting and drug possession will be downgraded to misdemeanors under the ballot measure, Proposition 47. As many as 10,000 people could be eligible for early release from state prisons, and its expected that courts will annually dispense around 40,000 fewer felony convictions. The state Legislative Analysts Office estimates that the new measure will save hundreds of millions of dollars on prisons. That money is to be redirected to education, mental health and addiction services -- a novel approach that reformers hope will serve as a model in the larger push against mass incarceration.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 16:27:35 +0000
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