Matt Cate knows a thing or two about Smart Justice. Before being appointed as the CSAC Executive Director, Cate served as Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In this position, he worked very closely with CSAC and California county officials on the historic 2011 implementation of public safety realignment.

“The counties we highlighting in our Smart Justice videos are using a collaborative approach to assess each offender as an individual and provide the appropriate level of supervision based on that assessment,” Cate said. “They also provide each offender with the tools they need to stay out of jail. When we break the cycle of recidivism and re-incarceration, we protect the public at far less cost than keeping someone locked up.”

California counties are working hard to ensure that Smart Justice is being practiced throughout California.