Berkeley, CA – A new report released this week by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab (CPL) shows how many Californians have likely had their criminal records recently relieved under California’s automatic record relief laws.
Before these laws, people had to go through an onerous petition process to get their records relieved, and as a result, few people actually had their records relieved. In July 2022, the California Department of Justice began automatically clearing eligible records.
The new report estimates that approximately 2.5 million Californians convicted between 2010-21 will have one or more convictions automatically relieved. Of those, 70% will likely have all their records relieved, granting them a “clean slate.” The researchers also project that most Californians who receive a clean slate are likely to maintain it over the next five years. Under California’s record relief laws, all arrests, most misdemeanor convictions, and many low-level felony convictions are relieved after people complete their sentences and specified waiting periods. After a record is relieved, it no longer appears on most background checks.
“California’s automatic relief laws are among the most expansive in the country, with the potential to remove barriers to employment, housing, civic engagement, and support programs for Californians with criminal records,” explains co-author Alissa Skog, a Researcher at the California Policy Lab’s UC Berkeley site. “However, one serious shortcoming is that people aren’t notified when their records are relieved, meaning they may not take advantage of new opportunities, such as applying for a different job or moving to a new house, that previously may have felt out of reach. A next step to make these laws more effective would be to either notify people or create a free option where people could see if their record has been relieved.”
Key Findings
- Almost 90% of Californians with a conviction between 2010-21 are likely to have their records automatically relieved.
- Nearly 70% of people with a conviction between 2010-21 likely had all their convictions and non-convictions automatically relieved, granting them a “clean slate,” meaning no records should appear on most background checks.
- The researchers estimate that most people (72%) who likely receive a clean slate will maintain it (not have future contact with the criminal justice system) for at least five years after their record is automatically relieved.
- Black Californians are overrepresented among those who are ineligible for automatic record relief. While Black people comprise 13% of those with convictions between 2010–21, they make up 24% of people who are only eligible for relief through a more onerous petition-based process, which prior research has demonstrated often has low take-up rates.
- Misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI) convictions are the most common records relieved. More than 30% of records relieved were misdemeanor DUI convictions.
