Orange County, Calif., April 30, 2025 – The Orange County Probation Department (OC Probation) is pleased to announce the significant decline of re-conviction rates of Day Reporting Center (DRCs) program participants.

As a response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s order to reduce California’s prison population, Assembly Bill 109 (AB 109) passed in 2011 and shifted responsibility for supervising certain offenders (non-serious, non-violent, and non-sex offenses) from the state to the counties. Essentially, these offenders would be supervised by local county probation officers instead of state parole officers.

AB 109 was not merely about reducing strain on the state incarceration system, but rather about transforming how the justice system fundamentally works. AB 109 mandated that counties also develop post-release supervision strategies based on evidence-based practices (EBP). EBP aims to address the criminogenic needs of offenders, or simply put, the reasons why a particular individual commits new crimes. EBP is more than a set of rules to guide rehabilitation efforts. They are specific and data-driven strategies, tailor made for an individual, to help them improve their lives and reduce future offenses.

OC Probation embraced the AB 109 EBP mandates head-on and acted decisively to take ownership of progress by opening two Day Reporting Centers (DRCs). In 2012, OC Probation opened a DRC in the city of Santa Ana. After a few successful years, a second DRC opened in Westminster in 2017 to serve a larger population in the county. Both DRCs are operated by The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO), who is committed to providing leading, evidence-based rehabilitation programs to individuals while in-custody and post-release into the community. GEO’s diversified services platform provides unique capabilities for the delivery of educational and vocational programs, cognitive behavioral and substance abuse treatment, and faith-based services. Participation in the services offered by DRC is open to all adult clients with OC Probation.

Offenders receive tools for personal development that can be used beyond their time at the DRC: cognitive behavioral training (CBT), substance use counseling, job readiness training, educational support, and more.

In 2023, OC Probation’s Research Unit in conjunction with GEO found a positive correlation between program completion and reduced re-conviction rates.  Figure A shows the positive trend in reduced re-conviction rates between 2014 and 2021 for the individuals who completed the program. Essentially, individuals who successfully completed the DRC programs had a marked decline in their chances of reoffending. This stands as a true testament to OC Probation’s focus on rehabilitation guided by EBP.

Figure B reveals many positive indicators that OC Probation’s DRCs work. Participants who completed the DRC program had a re-conviction rate of 13%, which dropped to just 3% by 2021. In contrast, those who started the program, but didn’t finish had a re-conviction rate of 42% in 2014, which decreased to 13% in 2021. Finally, participants with a neutral discharge in 2014 had a 32% re-conviction rate, but this dropped to 6% by 2021.

The significant decrease in re-conviction rates for offenders at the DRCs demonstrates the effectiveness of EBP in supporting offenders to turn their lives around. As OC Probation sees more positive outcomes unfold throughout the Department, it is clear that resources like the DRCs are a powerful strategy to cultivate long-term and sustainable public safety.