LAO Reports Criminal Justice California’s Criminal Justice System: A Primer January 31, 2007      Full Report:     HTML    PDF     In an effort to put the current discussion of crime in California in perspective, we have prepared this report to answer several key questions, including: How much crime is there in California? How has the level of crime changed over time? How does crime vary within California, and among the states? Who are the victims and perpetrators of crime? How does the California criminal justice system-local law enforcement, courts, and correctional agencies-deal with adult and juvenile offenders? What are the characteristics of adult and juveniles under the supervision of local and state correctional agencies? What are the costs of crime and the criminal justice system? What are the key criminal justice issues for policymakers today?