Public Safety Realignment resources: tools to learn more about how realignment will impact your community

October 24, 2011 |
Valor

Lately there has been a great deal of news coverage surrounding California’s Public Safety Realignment Act and how it will affect crime and victim’s rights in local communities. Realignment is a relatively new policy, so the full impact is still unclear. Below are some resources that provide background on Realignment, demographic information and ways to connect to your local Community Corrections Partnership.
 
The purpose of the Realignment is to shift public safety responsibilities away from the state government and increase local jurisdictions ability to manage a large number of low-level offenders. Realignment went into effect Oct. 1, 2011, and the impact on local communities is unclear as of the end of October. Erin Sasse at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been in constant contact to alert CALCASA of any potential ramifications for member centers and local communities. Public Safety Realignment provides members with an opportunity to partner with local law enforcement as there is a great deal of local autonomy in terms of how Realignment will be enforced in each county. Each county has been tasked with creating a Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) to develop and recommend to their Count Board of Supervisors an implementation plan for Realignment. CALCASA encourages you actively engage with the CCP in the area to advocate for advocates and for the best interest of their communities while the county-level realignment regulations and policies are in their nascent stages.
 
For more information on Public Safety Realignment, please visit the following sites (all sites provided courtesy of Erin Sasse, Chief of External Affairs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and her communications team).

CDCR Public Safety Realignment Information

 
Public Safety Realignment (main page)
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/index.html
Video Presentations by CDCR Providing General Overviews
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/video-realignment.html
Summary of Presentations and Information Made Available to Counties, including County Projections, Post-Release Community Supervision Information, etc.
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/local_resources.html
CDCR County Handbook, “Public Safety Realignment: Helpful Resources for California’s Counties in Implementing 2011’s Public Safety Realignment Legislation”
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/docs/County-Handbook-9-29-11.pdf
Three-Judge Panel Court Information and Updates
http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html

 

External Sources of Information on Public Safety Realignment

 
California Realignment Page (not sure who exactly maintains this site, but it is a very good source for information)
http://calrealignment.org/
Videos from the Innovations in Public Safety and Justice in California Conference held in Sacramento on September 21, 2011
http://vimeo.com/album/1710666
California District Attorneys’ Association’s (CDAA) Realignment Home Page
http://www.cdaa.org/Realignment2011/index.htm
CDAA’s Sentencing Samples Under Public Safety Realignment
http://www.cdaa.org/Realignment2011/Realignment_Sentencing_Samples.pdf
California State Sheriffs’ Association (CSAA) Realignment Home Page
http://www.calsheriffs.org/
California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Realignment Home Page
http://www.csac.counties.org/default.asp?id=3202
Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) Realignment Home Page
http://www.cpoc.org/php/realign/ab109home.php
County Criminal Justice Realignment Plans (page maintained by CPOC)
http://www.cpoc.org/php/realign/countyplans.php