Prop 47 Funded Programs Designed to Reduce Recidivism Successful

New data shows that a Los Angeles County program to help people reintegrate into society after incarceration is significantly reducing crime through programs funded by Proposition 47. Proposition 47, or Prop 47, was a ballot measure passed by California voters on November 5, 2014. The law made some non-violent property crimes, where the value does not exceed $950, into misdemeanors. It also made some simple drug possession offenses into misdemeanors. It also provides that past convictions for these charges may be reduced to a misdemeanor by a court. Under Prop 47, offenders could qualify for a reduction from a felony to a misdemeanor for some of the following offenses:

• Certain Forgeries
• Commercial Burglary
• Petty Theft with Priors
• Bad Check
• Grand Theft Crimes
• Possession of Stolen Property
• Possession of a Controlled Substance

A new report on the Re-entry Intensive Case Management Services program, or RICMS, found a 17% reduction in recidivism rates in Los Angeles County, a significant improvement over the 6% reduction found in the average re-entry program. As part of the program, community health workers help people find housing, work, treatment for mental health and substance use disorders, and legal services. The program and others like it are funded by Prop 47, and savings from those incarceration costs were put toward these community-based supports.

"RICMS has been effective at reducing arrests, incarcerations, convictions and probation revocations. It also reduced the number of days spent in jail, at both the one year and two year mark," said Vanessa Martin, the director of reentry for LA County's Justice, Care and Opportunities Department. She said the data shows positive change across the board.

Similar programs in other counties show progress as well.

Juan Taizan is the forensic diversion and reentry services director at Alameda County Behavioral Health. He said keeping people out of the system saves the county a lot of money, and those funds can be reinvested into the community. "Alameda County's Proposition 47 program has had significant success serving clients who are re-entering the community," said Taizan. "It has had 80% to 90% success rates, and those clients are not recidivating back into the jail system."

While conservative critics blame Proposition 47 for an uptick in violence and property crime last year, A new report from the Public Policy Institute says while numbers in both categories rose around 6% in 2022, property crime decreased more than 7% from 2017 to 2022 and actually hit a historic low in 2020.

"It shows that voters are getting everything they were promised when they voted and passed Prop 47," said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of the nonprofit Californians for Safety and Justice, which co-sponsored Prop 47. "I mean, it's $750 million in savings; funding for crime prevention programs up and down the state that are reducing recidivism and increasing housing and employment stability, less incarceration. That was the goal."

You can read and download the full report, "A Promising Approach to Coordinated Community-Based Reentry Services" from RICMS (PDF).