As Californians look toward the 2026 governor’s race, candidates on both sides of the aisle are once again wielding crime as a political cudgel. Our politicians talk constantly about being “tough on crime.” Yet, after years of this approach—and billions of dollars—the results are impossible to ignore: “tough-on-crime” policies have not made us safer.
Everyone deserves to feel safe in their home and community, to ride bikes and walk to school on a well-lit, green street with thriving local businesses. Locking people up for petty drug and property offenses does not help us get there—it only fuels mass incarceration. If California is serious about safety, the next governor must ground their approach in evidence instead of fear, slogans, media hype, or outdated assumptions.
California has made real progress: crime declined across every major category in 2024, and the murder rate is at its lowest in decades. Thanks to sentencing reform and smarter investments, the prison population is at its lowest level in more than 30 years. These are meaningful achievements, gained by moving away from the worst excesses of mass incarceration towards effective solutions that help people get back to work, connect people to the treatment they need, and prevent crime.
Still, many Californians feel less secure in their daily lives. The state has made progress, but too many people still find themselves without shelter. Immigrant families risk being torn apart every day. Overdose deaths remain far too common. Emergency response times lag in many jurisdictions. And many of our communities still experience persistent crime and violence, including domestic violence survivors, immigrants who fear reaching out for help, and working-class people. These are serious problems, and they require real solutions.
As criminal legal policy experts, we are dedicated to strengthening safety and reducing harm. We have worked with communities, survivors, formerly incarcerated people, and legislators to develop effective, evidence-based policy. Decades of research—and California’s own history—show that safety is built long before a crime occurs. Stable housing, accessible mental health care, substance-use treatment, quality education, and good jobs all make our communities safer and stronger. When these supports are missing, the consequences show up everywhere: in emergency rooms, on sidewalks, and in overburdened first response.
Survivors have made it clear that they want investment in those supports, like getting people into mental health treatment instead of handing down jail sentences that strain our economy and exacerbate underlying issues. But too often, public safety debates at the Capitol default to the narrow, fear-based frame that prioritizes punishment over prevention and intervention. California spends $17.5 billion on prisons every year, even as the prison population shrinks, while public health investments receive only a fraction of that funding. Starving public services while throwing money into incarceration isn’t just ineffective—it’s irresponsible.
California’s next governor can instead align state spending with what actually works. That means investing in mental health services and community-based crisis response teams that can de-escalate emergencies. It means holding law enforcement, both federal and local, accountable. It means expanding violence prevention and youth programs that interrupt cycles of harm. And it means treating addiction as a health issue, not as a crime.
The next governor will face hard budget choices, especially as a weaponized federal government continues to target California through funding cuts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, and military incursions. But they do not need to invent a new theory of public safety: proven solutions already exist. Closing at least four crumbling state prisons would free up billions of dollars that could be reinvested in housing, health care, and community-based safety strategies—all of which will prevent crime and address disorder at a far lower cost than incarceration.
Safety isn’t about who can sound toughest at a press conference. It’s about whether parents can find housing, whether someone in crisis gets help instead of a jail cell, and whether survivors of crime receive real support. This is a test of political courage. Candidates will be tempted to recycle those tired “tough-on-crime” talking points, hoping voters won’t notice the gap between rhetoric and reality. Californians should demand better—especially from those who seek to lead us.
Jose Bernal is the political director of the Ella Baker Center Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that builds power amongst people most impacted by systems of punishment and policing.
Michelle Parris is the California director at Vera Action, a 501(c)(4) organization harnessing the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.
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