The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently
released a report titled “A Closer Look at Women’s Arrest Rates.”
The report looked at data between 1980 and 2016, and found that
arrest rates in California have dropped for both men and women,
however, the arrest rates have dropped significantly more for men
than women.
The female share of misdemeanor arrests has jumped from 14
percent of total arrests in 1980 to 25 percent in 2016, partly
due to an increase in assault and battery misdemeanor arrests.
The report found that the female share of felony arrests has also
jumped from 12 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2016. The
PPIC recommends that the Legislature monitor arrest rates for men
and women when “considering the impact of criminal justice
reforms.”
Additionally, last month the Public Policy Institute of
California (PPIC) published a report titled “Can
Pretrial Decisions Be Improved?” which discusses concerns
surrounding California’s shift from a cash bail system to the use
of pretrial risk assessment tools.
The report finds that 49 of the State’s 58 counties already use
some type of risk assessment tool, but notes that these tools
have been somewhat controversial. The PPIC explains that they
have been challenged as “unfair,” and that despite the results of
the risk assessment, a judge may override the tool’s
recommendation.
The PPIC states that in order to ensure transparency, it will be
important to collect data on why judges decide to override the
assessment tool recommendations. The PPIC believes that this data
would show how well risk assessment systems work, and would
identify potential sources of unfairness within the systems.
