BERKELEY, Calif. — A new report from the California Policy Lab and the State of California’s Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code introduces the California Prison Population Data Dashboards, an online tool offering a detailed look at who is incarcerated in California and why. The dashboards were announced Oct. 15, 2025, in Berkeley by researcher Sean Coffey and others.
According to Michael Romano, chairperson of the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code, “For the first time, lawyers, policymakers, and the general public can see detailed information about who goes to prison, for which crimes, for how long, and from which counties.” He explained that the tool provides “a much more granular level of detail than was historically available to the public.”
The dashboards organize data into three main sections: the current population (as of June 2025), admissions (2015–2025), and releases (2015–2025). Each includes population counts, offense categories, sentence enhancements, and demographic details such as race, gender, and age. Users can also filter by county or crime type to explore specific trends.
Mia Bird, assistant professor of public policy at UC Berkeley and a member of the research team, said, “What makes these dashboards so powerful is that they turn raw data into an interactive tool for data exploration.” She added that the project gives both the public and policymakers “direct access to answer their own questions about California’s prison population.”
One key finding from the data shows that “people 50 and older make up 30% of the current prison population and have, on average, served over 18 years in prison.” The dashboard also reveals disparities in sentencing, noting that “among men admitted to prison for robbery in 2024, white men consistently received shorter sentences statewide and in all three of California’s largest counties.”
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation provided the data used to build the dashboards, which include no personal identifying information. The California Policy Lab and the Penal Code Committee are also working with Stanford Law School to make additional data available for deeper analysis of incarceration trends.
As Coffey noted, the new dashboards aim to make California’s prison system more transparent and accountable, allowing the public to better understand who is incarcerated, for what reason, and for how long.
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