
In 2020, California created the Committee on Revision of the Penal Code (CRPC) to reduce overcrowding in prisons and simplify and improve California’s penal code. CPL is serving as the research partner to the CRPC.
Background
California’s Committee on Revision of the Penal Code, in partnership with a team from the researchers at CPL, aims to make evidence-based recommendations for statutory reforms. This includes recommendations to simplify and rationalize the substance of criminal law and criminal procedures, establish alternatives to incarceration, and improve the state’s probation and parole systems. CPL is grateful to Arnold Ventures for providing two years of initial funding for this research.
Research Project
Through this partnership, CPL will design studies to answer key Committee questions, synthesize existing policy-relevant research findings, evaluate current sentencing laws in California, and provide insights on recent criminal legal policy changes surrounding sentencing, bail, parole eligibility, among many other topics. Composed of three Principal Investigators, and research staff with in-depth backgrounds in criminal legal work, CPL brings a unique level of expertise to these topics. Through this project, CPL will publish periodic reports, as well as present to the Committee. CPL will also work with the Committee to provide technical assistance on the underlying data received from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Department of Justice, as well as providing broad stroke insights into this data that has never been analyzed before in this way.
Research Team
Professor Dr. Steven Raphael (Co-Principal Investigator), Assistant Professor Dr. Mia Bird (Co-Principal Investigator), Dr. Johanna Lacoe (Co-Principal Investigator), Omair Gill, Alissa Skog, Molly Pickard, Nefara Riesch.
CPL Publications
Series of Fact Sheets (2023)
Sentence Enhancements in California (March 2023)
Three Strikes in California (August 2022)
See also: Executive Summary of this report, and An Overview of Sentencing in California
Crime in California during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Sept 2021)
See also: Steven Raphael Testimony about the research
CRPC Publications
2022 Annual Report and Recommendations
2021 Annual Report and Recommendations
Death Penalty Report (Nov 2021)
2020 Annual Report and Recommendations