(Image credit: adc.arkansas.gov)
People serving sentences for nonviolent felonies in San Diego County custody recommit crimes less frequently than those who serve in state prison for similar crimes, according to new data from the San Diego County Probation Department.
“In many ways, San Diego as a community is ahead of the game if you compare to other communities across the country,” said Ricky Valdez, vice president of programs at Second Chance, an organization that helps people transition back to life outside of prison.
He said organizations involved in rehabilitation are launching programs that would have been unheard of even five years ago.
“Partners are starting to think outside the box and admit the way we have been doing reentry in our community is not working, so we need to look at other ways to do it,” he said.
Since California passed Assembly Bill 109, the public safety realignment law that shifted where sentences were served for nonviolent, nonsexual, nonserious offenders, San Diego County has been responsible for rehabilitating two groups: those who serve their sentences locally and those who serve their sentences in state prison but are supervised by the county probation department after release.
To read more of the story, written by Kate Morrissey, please click here.
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