SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Corrections officials say former California prison inmates are being arrested and convicted of new crimes at a relatively steady rate after release.
But more are going to county jails instead of state prisons under a law that took effect nearly five years ago.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Thursday that 45 percent of inmates released five years ago were back in prison within three years. That’s down from 54 percent last year and a high of 67.5 percent a decade ago.
Returns to prison dropped sharply after a 2011 law began keeping less serious offenders and most parole violators in county lockups.
About 75 percent of ex-felons were arrested again within three years and about half convicted of new crimes. Those numbers have remained relatively stable.