The Office of the Inspector General oversees the state's correctional system through contemporaneous monitoring and special reviews of the policies, practices, and procedures of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Although the duties required of the Inspector General's Office are complex, its mission is clear: to protect public safety by safeguarding the integrity of California's correctional system.

The Office of the Inspector General has regional offices in the northern, central, and southern regions of California, which allow staff to quickly respond to issues arising at California's prisons, youth facilities, and parole regions, located throughout California. This regional model works effectively for the Office of the Inspector General's contemporaneous oversight of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's internal affairs investigations and employee disciplinary process, as well as contemporaneous oversight monitoring of all deadly force incidents, certain custodial death incidents, and other significant critical incidents. In addition, the Office of the Inspector General is statutorily responsible for conducting use of force monitoring, policy and performance reviews, warden and superintendent vettings, sexual abuse in detention reviews, retaliation complaint reviews, independent intake (complaint) processing, and medical inspections. As required by statute, the Office of the Inspector General's monitoring and oversight activities are reported publicly several times per year.

In addition, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007, Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, created the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (Board) within the Office of the Inspector General. The Board's mandate is to examine the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's various mental health, substance abuse, educational, and employment programs for inmates and parolees. The Board meets quarterly to recommend modifications, additions, and eliminations of offender rehabilitation and treatment programs. The Board also submits biannual reports to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public to convey its findings on the effectiveness of treatment efforts, rehabilitation needs of offenders, gaps in offender rehabilitation services, and levels of offender participation and success.