The Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social Science

For the first time in nearly 40 years imprisonment patterns in the United States are shifting. For example, overcrowding in California's prisons has forced the state to reduce its prison population and enact a controversial new law called "Public Safety Realignment." This law requires California to supervise many of its offenders at the county level, rather than the state level, unbeknownst to many in the general public.
To hone in on the complexities of prison downsizing and decarceration it is important to examine the different facets that play a part in these processes. To do so, this volume of The ANNALS brings together an inter-disciplinary group of scholars who research prisons, mass incarceration, and related policies to examine the origins of the prison overcrowding crisis, the diffusion and translation of law and policy reform, the impact of prison downsizing on the criminal justice system, and the future of decarceration.