University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies Healthforce Center at UCSF -

A research article examining whether or not prison populations can be reduced without endangering the public by testing California's compliance with court-mandated targets to reduce prison overcrowding using a pretest-posttest design. Results found that Realignment had no effect on violent or property crime rates from 2012-2014 and significant size reductions in prison populations are possible without endangering public safety. Report suggests greater attention to local implementation and accountability, targeted crime prevention, and sentencing reform is necessary to sustain these results. Jody Sundt’s research focuses on the effectiveness of correctional policy.

Emily Salisbury’s research focuses on evidence-based correctional policy, offender risk/needs assessment, and effective treatment intervention strategies. Mark G. Harmon is a quantitative research methodologist and justice policy researcher.

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^{Keywords: California Public Safety Realignment Act; Prison downsizing; Regression point displacement design; Prison population; Brown v. Plata}