Has California Ended Mass Incarceration?

Between 1975 and 2007, incarceration rates in the United States increased nearly fivefold. But over the last decade, California has slowly turned away from mass incarceration, reducing its prison population and changing criminal sentencing and other law enforcement practices to give more people more second chances. What has California done right in this transformation, and where has it fallen short? How are criminal justice system reforms changing our economy, our schools, our housing markets, our health systems, and our politics? And what would a truly just criminal justice system look like? UC Berkeley public policy professor Steven Raphael visits Zócalo to examine criminal justice reform in California and how ending mass incarceration might change our communities.

Photos courtesy of Steven Raphael and Abbie VanSickle