DA joins Attorney General to announce new recidivism reduction initiative

SAN DIEGO – On Nov. 20, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis joined Attorney General Kamala Harris to announce an initiative to further curb recidivism through a new unit called the Division of Recidivism Reduction and Re-Entry. [Recidivism refers to a person’s relapse into criminal behavior.

The division will focus on three areas: program development and best practices, data-driven evaluation, and grant funding for local DA offices. The unit will be paid for through existing California Department of Justice resources.

“San Diego County has been a statewide leader in working to reduce recidivism through innovative prisoner re-entry programs,” DA Dumanis said. “We welcome the Attorney General’s leadership and commitment of resources in this area as our county continues to protect public safety while dealing with the ongoing challenges brought on by prisoner realignment.”

The new initiative will provide prosecutors with accurate data to help determine the effect of prisoner realignment on public safety and it will use innovative technology, such as the Attorney General’s recently created California SmartJustice system, to analyze offender populations and recidivism risk factors.

SmartJustice, a new database and analytical tool created by the California Department of Justice, can track repeat offenders and offense trends to provide counties with more effective options in developing anti-recidivism initiatives.

In San Diego, under DA Dumanis’ leadership, the county already has a history of collaborating with law enforcement partners to try to stop the revolving door to prison and protect public safety.

In 2007, the District Attorney’s office began the successful Senate Bill 618 Prisoner Reentry Program which over the course of five years lowered the recidivism rate to 34 percent and resulted in an estimated $10 million in savings.

The DA’s office also participates in the County’s four Adult Drug Courts, Behavioral Health Court, and Veteran’s Court. The office has also played a role in expanding Reentry Court and creating Mandatory Supervision Court, the first of its kind in the state.

Current reentry programming includes collaboration with the San Diego Probation Department to create a Community Transitional Center which assesses and provides transitional housing for all state prisoners returning to San Diego County.

The DA’s office is also partnering with 211 San Diego to improve access for returning offenders and their families to a ‘one-stop shop’ of reentry resources in San Diego.

The District Attorney remains committed to holding offenders accountable and working to ensure that upon their return to San Diego they are given every possible opportunity to become clean, productive members of the community.