Impact of defelonizing drug possession on recidivism

Abstract

California’s Proposition 47 (Prop 47), passed in November 2014, sought to scale back punishment for selected drug and property offenses, making them misdemeanors rather than felonies. Although others have examined the impacts of Proposition 47 on crime rates, here we examine the impacts on a range of recidivism outcomes specifically for individuals convicted for drug possession offenses. We focus on the defelonization of drug possession because nationally evidence suggests that public and policy maker sympathy for reducing incarceration use is greatest for nonviolent drug offenders. Thus, the greatest relevance of Proposition 47 to the nation lies in its strategy of defelonizing drug possession.

Publication
Criminology & Public Policy (19)2
Viet Nguyen
Viet Nguyen
PhD in Criminology, MA in Statistics

Viet Nguyen received his PhD in criminology in 2022 at the University of Pennsylvania. He has research interests in the courts, criminal justice reform, and corrections.

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