California’s Proposition 47

Abstract

Proposition 47 made drastic changes to California’s criminal justice system. Critics and proponents of the measure have made sweeping claims about its impact on crime trends and the criminal justice system, in general. However, many of these claims are based on assumptions and are not based on actual data and research. Given the fact that California’s prison population is still subject to court oversight, it is essential that the effectiveness of Proposition 47 as a solution to this issue be evaluated. If the state hopes to maintain compliance with the court-mandated prison population caps, it must ensure to exhaust all possible legislative solutions. This includes evaluating policy reforms that have already been implemented to determine whether they are sufficient to address the issue, whether other kinds of solutions should be considered, or whether any changes to the current solution are necessary. To this end, this project explored the implementation of Proposition 47 over the last five years, as well as its impact on the number of calls for service and overall crime statistics in the City of Campbell. Has Proposition 47 been effective in reducing prison overcrowding, while not enhancing criminal activity in communities?