12/12/2017 | Combating Discriminatory Policing, Justice Transformation
Reclaim, Reimagine, and Reinvest: Analysis of Los Angeles County's Criminalization Budget
For too long, Los Angeles County (“the County”) has viewed public safety exclusively through a policing and incarceration lens and poured billions of limited public resources into failing solutions. Over the past 20 years, the County has dramatically increased the budgets of its Sheriff’s Department and Probation Department. These decisions were made despite evidence that policing and incarceration do not significantly impact crime rates and a mandate from the majority of Californians to decrease reliance on incarceration and punitive responses to public health and safety issues.
This budget brief details the historical, current, and proposed investments in criminalization and incarceration by L.A. County. It then highlights alternative investments in community-based public safety solutions that would provide sustainable development for residents, while simultaneously addressing the root causes of health and safety inequities in the County.
