Realignment is not an “early release program.” No state prison inmates have been or will be released early.
There have been no inmate transfers from state prison to county jails.
The state has provided funding to the counties to help meet any increased expenses under Realignment — $400 million in 2011, rising to more than $850 million in 2012, and more than $1 billion in 2013-2014.
CDCR does not decide which crimes are “serious” or “violent”; those are defined by the California Penal Code.
What is Realignment?
Realignment is a big change for everyone. California is legally required by a federal Three-Judge Panel (a decision affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court) to reduce prison overcrowding to 110,000 inmates or face the wholesale early and unsupervised release of approximately 33,000 inmates. Realignment has helped the State reduce its number of inmates by more than 24,500 while providing counties with billions of dollars in funding to adjust to this unprecedented shift. The inmate reduction will help California end costly litigation and an expensive Receivership, which benefits all Californians.
In the past, all inmates released from state prison were supervised by state parole. Beginning October 1, 2011, after serving their legally required state prison sentences, inmates with a current commitment offense that is non-serious, non-violent or non high-risk sex offense are supervised by county probation. All others continue to report to state parole.
Offenders convicted after October 1, 2011 of a crime defined by the California Penal Code as non-serious, non-violent or non-sex offense stay in county jail to serve their court-ordered sentences.
Parole violations are now served in county jail.
