AB109 IN CALIFORNIA: Realignment, Decarceration and Crime in Los Angeles County

In 2011 the California Legislature passed the Public Safety Realignment Act (AB 109/117), which transferred responsibility for supervising low-level inmates and parolees from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to counties. The legislation, which took effect in October of 2011: (1) provides that offenders sentenced after October 1, 2011, on non-serious, non-violent and non-sex offenses are, with certain limited exceptions, no longer eligible for state prison sentences; (2) shifts the responsibility for post-release community supervision of prison inmates serving sentences for non-serious, non-violent and non-sex offense from the state to the county; and (3) as of July 1, 2013, transfers responsibility for revocation hearings from the State Board of Parole Hearings to the county court system. In response to AB109/117, the Executive Committee of the Community Corrections Partnership for Los Angeles County developed an implementation plan designed to address the criminogenic needs of offenders targeted by the legislation, reduce recidivism, and ensure public safety. The implementation plan focuses on post-release community supervision, revocation procedures, and jail management. To assess the implementation of AB 109, we conducted a process and outcome evaluation that focused on the implementation and impact of AB 109 in Los Angeles County. We evaluated AB 109 using a mixed-methods research design that incorporated qualitative data from interviews with relevant stakeholders and with those charged with implementing the legislation and quantitative data on a variety of process and outcome measures. The process evaluation assessed whether AB 109 has been implemented as intended and with fidelity; the focus will be on the policies and procedures specified in the implementation plan for post-release community supervision. The outcome evaluation examined community supervision program completion rates, the recidivism rates of offenders supervised under the new post-release community supervision program, and longitudinal data on crime rates.