A pesar de los aumentos sustanciales en los gastos de justicia penal durante las últimas tres décadas, la mayoría de los sobrevivientes de crimen no reciben apoyo para recuperarse de los daños. El gasto estatal en servicios a las víctimas representa aproximadamente el 1 por ciento de lo que el estado gasta en el sistema penitenciario. En otras palabras, California gasta casi 80 veces más en prisiones que en servicios para víctimas de crimen.

Despite substantial increases in criminal justice expenditures over the past three decades, the majority of crime survivors do not receive support to help them recover from harm. State spending on victim services represents about 1 percent of what the state spends on the prison system. In other words, California spends nearly 80 times more on prisons than on services for crime victims.

The estimates in Getting Back to Work: Revamping the Economy by Removing Past Records show that at a minimum, California loses $20 billion from the state economy as a result of policies that disenfranchise potential workers with past conviction records. But this is just the tip of the iceberg — these statistics leave out many of the ways old records limit individuals’ employment, and California’s economic potential.

Funding for local programs has made California safer, helped crime survivors heal, but larger investments are needed.

California is at a crossroads. In the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis, looming massive deficits, and new calls for lawmakers to design a more racially equitable justice system. Prison spending is expected to hit an all-time high of $13 billion this year. Now more than ever, policymakers must take bold steps to reverse the decades-old trend of over- incarceration.

Helping Immigrant Clients with Post-Conviction Legal Options: A Guide for Legal Service Providers, released in partnership with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, lays out dozens of strategies attorneys can follow to provide immigration relief to their clients.

A statewide survey of California victims’ views on safety and justice. 8 out of 10 California survivors of crime support using 10% of the state’s $12 billion prisons budget to fund mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment, and trauma recovery services.

Californians with convictions face over 4,800 laws that impose harmful collateral consequences long after successful completion of a sentence, most of which have no foundation in public safety and serve no purpose other than to make it harder for people to rebuild their lives.

California leaders must continue to right-size the state’s incarceration rate. With reduced prison spending, the state would have increased capacity to invest in new safety solutions that more effectively support people vulnerable to crime and prevent crime from happening in the first place.