Statewide Region Local News: Crime & Justice


All Local Crime & Justice News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: The California mental health crisis is tied to both homelessness and rising crime.
UPDATE: California’s Mental Health Crisis: How We Got Here

How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.

Image caption: The California Supreme Court has defined the state’s legal and political agenda for more than 170 years.
How the California Supreme Court Blazes Legal Trails

The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Access to abortion in California is limited in many areas, though state laws protect a woman’s right to choose.
Abortion Rights in California, Explained

California has historically been ahead of the rest of the country in expanding the legal right to abortion services. Here’s what state laws say today, and how we got here.

Image caption: California cities switch to more inclusive, district-based elections system.
Voting Rights...the Final Frontier

Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/12/2025
A California appeals court rules a baker can’t refuse to sell a generic cake to a lesbian couple. It’s part of a series of cases shaping the debate over free speech and anti-discrimination laws.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

02/10/2025
Interviews suggest some people swept up in Trump’s immigration crackdown are dedicated to their families and communities — not hardened criminals.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/27/2025
One of President Trump’s first executive orders threatened to withhold federal funding from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. California is one of them.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/09/2025
State prisoners have long been a part of California’s firefighting force. Hundreds of them now are deployed in Los Angeles County.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/06/2025
After two reparations bills stalled in the final day of session last year, reparation advocates are campaigned at the state Capitol to drum up support for the same measures.

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

01/03/2025
While cities in California continue to pass ordinances to combat illegal sideshows, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws that go into effect this year statewide to give municipalities more legal tools to address them. 

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

01/02/2025
California legislators want to limit deportation actions at schools, but they can’t ban immigration officials.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

12/26/2024
Californians accused of certain drug and retail theft crimes may already be facing stiffer penalties under an initiative voters passed this year, alongside related bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law. 

California Local Pin Marker From Local News Matters...

12/26/2024
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS ARE proving that they play a vital role when it comes to public safety in California. The California Reentry Institute, directed by Collette Carroll to help potential parolees, has graduated more than 230 incarcerated individuals in San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

12/16/2024
California recorded historically high numbers of deaths in county jails for the past six years. Now, counties expect to house more prisoners as Prop. 36 takes effect.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

11/21/2024
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Racial Justice Act into law in September 2020, following the police murder of George Floyd. For the first time, defendants can put bias from any brush with the criminal legal system — from arrest to sentencing — on the stand.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

11/10/2024
California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/22/2024
With proponents of Proposition 36 raising nearly $15 million so far — about three times as much as its opponents — and 71% of likely voters in support, it appears the statewide ballot measure will pass in November. And that’s exactly what immigrant rights advocates are worried about.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/16/2024
Supporters of a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons believe they have a strong message centered on rehabilitation. But as Election Day nears, polls show it’s a toss-up or trailing.

California Local Pin Marker From California Local...

10/06/2024
Image for display with article titled The Attack on the Popular Vote

In more than 30 states, it’s harder than ever to vote this year. But in California, it’s never been easier.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

10/02/2024
The state Labor Commissioner sometimes struggles to get back pay to workers when it reaches wage theft settlements. It tries social media, TV and hotlines. But money owed to employees is still sitting in state accounts.

California Local Pin Marker From The Mercury News...

09/25/2024
The Mercury News guide to the anti-crime and ant-drug dealing measure Proposition 36 on the November ballot.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/19/2024
The UC Regents approved campus requests for more tools for UC police months after campus protesters clashed with law enforcement.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

09/18/2024
Worries about retail theft and fentanyl deaths shaped a November ballot measure that would toughen some criminal penalties. Here are the facts about California crime trends.