In a Wall Street Journal article, written by Vauhini Vara, on the impact of realignment on local county jails statewide and on the individuals that inhabit them, it is made clear that community input and local political pressure is helping shape how the criminal justice system is adjusting to the changes. One expert calls it “justice by geography.”  This article is a reminder that ACJP public advocacy for alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders truly can and does make a difference. The people of Kern county need an ACJP in a big way! — Post submission by Aram James

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Under a court order to ease overcrowding in state prisons, California moved last year to divert thousands of lower-level offenders to local jails. Now the fallout from that shift is reverberating through several sections of the state, including this area north of Los Angeles.

In Kern County, Sheriff Donny Youngblood’s jail was so near capacity this spring that he had to release hundreds of inmates—monitoring them with electronic devices or assigning them to do supervised labor such as working as janitors. Read more>>>