By Dean Maddox, Public Safety & Crime Reporter

Five years after Governor Gavin Newsom announced his intent to close some of California’s prisons, the state has enacted a budget that reflects that decision. Under the new plan, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is set to receive $13.6 billion—down nearly $1.3 billion from its 2023 peak.

Supporters of the move call it fiscal responsibility. But a closer look reveals a different story: California’s reduced prison spending is the result of releasing tens of thousands of inmates early, often through a patchwork of policy changes, early release credits, and sentence reductions championed by progressive lawmakers. Since these measures began, more than 60,000 inmates have been released early.

These were not all non-violent offenders. In one well-documented batch of 15,000 inmates released under a COVID-era policy, 5,000 reoffended—including 30 who were convicted of murder. The state has not published similar follow-up data on the rest of the inmates released under more recent policy changes.

But California’s own official recidivism rate—hovering near 50%—offers a grim estimate. Extrapolating from that, more than 25,000 crimes were likely committed by the 60,000 inmates released. That estimate includes over 130 murders, along with hundreds of rapes and thousands of assaults and robberies. These numbers represent not just statistics, but lives altered and communities shaken.

Despite these implications, state leadership has yet to provide a comprehensive analysis of the broader impacts. Instead, the focus has remained on budget line items.

The cost of crime is difficult to measure in dollars alone, but economists and public safety experts routinely note the long-term financial toll—on law enforcement, courts, healthcare, insurance, lost productivity, and victim support services. Even basic public perception—residents feeling less safe, businesses struggling to stay open, and tourism declining—carries economic weight.

In that context, the state’s so-called savings come at a far higher cost than advertised.

Newsom’s prison budget may appear leaner, but the public is still paying. Just not from the corrections line item. Instead, they’re paying in emergency room visits, in stolen property, in neighborhood instability—and, in the worst cases, in lives lost.

California’s public safety balance sheet doesn’t end at the Department of Corrections. And it’s time the budget reflected that reality.