The city of Oakland, California recently received a two million dollar grant, with most of that money going to programs that aim to reduce recidivism. While the city has seen reductions in crime in recent years, Oakland also has some of the highest incarceration and recidivism rates in the state. Funds will be used primarily for programs that offer job and housing assistance to released convicts, alongside drug treatment, mental health counseling and efforts to ensure that every released prisoner has a state ID card and enrollment in Medi-Cal, funded by a separate grant. 

The rest of the funds will go to support policing efforts in the community. One program many have high hopes for is the “Ceasefire” initiative, where suspected offenders are sought out and offered help for their problems prior to, and instead of, arrest and incarceration. While this strategy is still in its early stages in Oakland, will it and the other programs help bring recidivism rates down?

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