I Joined Wikipedia - Here's How it Went

I recently joined Wikipedia as a contributor, and I was surprised by my experience. I have never given Wikipedia much thought as I was always taught in academia to never rely on the platform for credible information.

Maybe this is an original experience, but I found myself fumbling over which articles to contribute to. Am I really an expert in anything? Do I have a hobby or interest that I am so in love with that I could contribute some unknown fact or detail, or correct an error? I know I am smart and knowledgeable in fields such as public relations, social media management, law enforcement communications, and political campaigns. Still, I found myself floundering at how any of that applies to Wikipedia articles. 

I did what anyone does when they're stuck and thought about all my other stresses in life, including my job at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). I decided I would see if Wikipedia has an article on CDCR, and sure enough, there was my employer. 

Upon reading the article, I immediately stopped when I saw one of the listed divisions within CDCR, the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). I knew from my work within CDCR that the DJJ no longer exists, and hasn't for some time, due to SB 823 and SB 92 passing in the California Legislature years prior. I continued reading when I came across one of CDCR's programs, the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health (CCJBH). California State Budget, particularly CDCR's budget, faced significant cuts for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, and CCJBH was one of our programs affected, resulting in its closure effective July 1, 2025. 

As I continued reading, I noticed the article did not contain any information about either closures, so I decided to make my first edits. Before I officially made an edit, I decided to review the CDCR's website to obtain more detailed information about the programs. My research concluded that I was correct about the closures and provided me with exact dates. 

With the official research in hand, I went back to the Wikipedia article and posted my proposed edits in the Talk tab. 

Screenshot of the article's Talk page where I introduced my edits to other Wikipedia contributors.

I first posted to the talk page as I am new to contributing to Wikipedia. I had hoped that by introducing the latest closure information, someone might want to join me in editing the page. However, several days later, I still had not received a reply. I believe this is likely because Wikipedia has labeled law enforcement articles as a "low priority" and Correction and Detention Facilities projects as "defunct."

Screenshot of the article's Talk page with project ratings.

I was surprised by the defunct rating and found that this is because Wikipedia editors deemed it a project that has gone inactive because it has served its stated purpose, had an unrealistic scope, or is otherwise unlikely to be ever revived.

After two days without discussion, I made my revisions and updated my original Talk post to relay my actions and sources. Because CDCR hasn't updated its website with historical timeline information on CCJBH's closure in the same detail it had with DJJ's closure, I only added a closure update for DJJ.

A screenshot of the edits I made to the Wikipedia article.

I did, however, list the closure dates in the other sections of the article where the programs are mentioned, citing CDCR's webpages. 

While some may not find these edits important, I believe that if you're going to have a webpage dedicated to a subject, it should remain updated. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is likely of specialized interest to some individuals on the World Wide Web, and I wanted them to have the most updated information as it pertains to their interest. 

What surprised me most about my experience as a new contributor was how articles are rated, and that a law enforcement agency as large and senior as the CDCR is considered a "defunct" and "low priority" article. Maybe it is because I work for the department's communication team, but CDCR is full of rich history that has admittedly not always been bright. CDCR has made strides in the last two decades to put an emphasis on rehabilitation efforts, and we are constantly documenting these on Inside CDCR and Week in Review. I would have appreciated the opportunity to discuss my revisions with other contributors to learn more about contributing to Wikipedia articles. Who knows, maybe I would have found another contributor who is a former CDCR employee or who has a great interest in the department's history. 

I can't say whether this experience changed my view on Wikipedia as a reliable source of information. While I ensured that I did my due diligence in citing my departmental knowledge from CDCR's official website, the ease of editing still makes me question overall credibility. Essentially, all one has to do is create a free profile, select an article, edit, and publish. CDCR's article rating has me curious as to whether or not my work will be double-checked. If I had selected a higher priority article, it might have been, but I can't be sure.