Decarcerate Sacramento
Current Campaigns
Decarceration & Decriminalization
Decreasing Sacramento County jail populations requires a plan that prioritizes strengthening networks of care and resources that heal, decrease poverty, prevent harm and increase capacity for diversion from policing and the legal system.
We continue work to prevent any type of jail expansion in Sacramento County.
Budget Transparency and Reinvestment
Advocating for public spending to be transparent and to be invested in life-affirming human services that promote community safety.
PreTrial Justice: Ending Pretrial Detention
Fighting against the growing power of Probation in Pretrial and for Pretrial programs to prioritize supportive community-based services outside of law-enforcement.
Inside/Outside Organizing
Decarcerate Sacramento organizes with people who are currently incarcerated in Sacramento County’s two jails. We build relationships through letter writing, phone calls and jail visiting to ensure that our work is centering the needs and priorities of people inside. We work to amplify their voices and experiences in all of our advocacy.
Our coalition is primarily made up of individuals who currently have or have had a loved one incarcerated. We understand on a personal level how harmful incarceration is on families and communities. If you or someone you know has been impacted by Sacramento County jails, please reach out to us at decarceratesac@gmail.com.
Get our E-Newsletter & Updates
Want to stay up to date on our work? Sign up for our e-newsletter below.
Fast Facts
82%
The percentage of people in Sacramento County Jail who have not been convicted of any crime.
37%
The population of Black folks in the jail population (the total Black population in Sacramento County is 11%).
Over 60%
The number of people in Sacramento County Jail who have been diagnosed with mental illness.
Over 50%
The number of people charged with misdemeanors in Sacramento experiencing homelessness.
Data Shows: Prevention Works
“Preventing Violence: A Primer”, Prevention Institute, October 2009
Key finding: “Prevention programs and strategies have a demonstrated track record in reducing violence.”
Events
Find out more about Decarcerate Sacramento's calls to action, community forums, and rallies!
Wednesday, June 8th, 2022
Sac County Budget Action
Our response to COVID-19 was immediate. We sent this letter to the Sheriff’s Department on March 12th, 2020. Following that public statement, we worked to support the Public Defender’s office with their motions that, if approved by a judge, would release hundreds if not thousands. The first motions approved the release of those with less than 60 days on their sentence. The Sacramento County Jail population overall was reduced by over 30% due to COVID-19 related releases. We are demanding that the requirement for people released early to return to finish their sentences be lifted, and that the County focus its efforts on continuing to reduce the jail population.
History
Decarcerate Sacramento formed in response to an $89 million dollar jail expansion planned for the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC). Community members were deeply concerned that this expansion would continue to cause county budget cuts to vital human services. Our goals were clear from the beginning—in addition to preventing the expansion of our jail system, we need sustained decreases in our jail population and a drastic shift in county funding to community-based services that prevent harm.
In November of 2019, we successfully convinced the Sacramento County Board of Superivsors to cancel the planned expansion of the RCCC jail. Then, after many more months of research and organizing, the Board cancelled a second, separate plan to build a new jail "annex" in March of 2021.
After preventing two jail expansion projects in under two years, Decarcerate Sacramento is now focused primarily on Pre-Trial reform that prioritizes Preserving the Presumption of Innocence (PPI), Alternatives to Incarceration outside of law-enforcement, and shifting county funding priorities towards human services that promote public health and community safety.
Decarcerate Sacramento is a fiscally sponsored project of Tides Advocacy.© 2022