Apr
19
2017
April 2017
In 2011, Assembly Bill 109 transferred 60,000 felony parole violators a year from state to local control, saving the state $100 million. But the bill has sparked a backlash, with some prosecutors and law enforcement officials blaming it for a recent rise in violent crime.
Charis Kubrin, professor of Criminology, Law and Society, disagrees that AB 109 is to blame. She conducted the first scientific analysis of AB 109 last year, accounting for other factors such as unemployment, and found that while the bill contributed to a rise in property crimes, particularly auto thefts, there was no evidence it led to a rise in assaults, rapes or murders. The research was featured in a Fox News segment on the California's recent rise in crime.