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The Extraordinary Size of the US Prison Population

August 24, 2012 By Cody Smith

Learn Liberty’s latest video examines the U.S. prison population, which is estimated to be the largest among all developed nations. Daniel D’Amico, an Assistant Professor of Economics at Loyola University New Orleans, outlines the comparatively large degree of incarceration in the U.S., which may even be more extensive (as a total number and as a percentage of population) than it is in Russia and China. The costs, both economic and human, of this widespread incarceration are staggering. The level of incarceration is fiscally irresponsible and difficult to justify.

Professor D’Amico correctly points out that “the large and active role of our federal government” in criminal justice differentiates the U.S. from most other developed countries, which handle crime at the local level. It is worth mentioning that this expanded role only came about in the last 30 or so years. Historically, the federal government played only a small role in criminal justice, and never incarcerated more than approximately 24,000 people until the 1980s. Now, the federal prison population stands at approximately 218,000 inmates. Overall, the U.S.’s total incarcerated population (over 1.6 million) dwarfs that of its allies, such as the U.K. (~79,000), France (~57,000), or Canada (~35,000).

From the video:

“Perhaps the nickname ‘The Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave’ should be updated, although I suppose you need to be brave to endure the highest likelihood of incarceration the world has ever known. Prisons are not what we think about when we think of America, and they shouldn’t have to be. A free nation shouldn’t imprison so many people, and a fiscally responsible nation can’t afford to. With close to $40 billion a year in state correctional spending, the financial costs are obvious and staggering alone. But the human costs are often underappreciated; 1.6 million fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of American families are incarcerated. It’s time for people to realize that the criminal justice system in America is desperately in need of reform.”

The video, titled “US Prison Population: The Largest in the World,” can be viewed here.

Filed Under: Audio and Video, Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, Video

Texas Newspapers Highlight State Prison Reforms

August 15, 2012 By Cody Smith

A recent article in the Austin American-Statesman, titled “Texas prison population shrinks as rehabilitation programs take root,” covers the state’s recent success in reducing its incarceration rate. Texas’s prison population is at its lowest in five years, despite sustained growth in the state’s overall population. This is due, in part, to Texas’s recent focus on alternatives to incarceration, such as treatment and rehabilitation, which are both cheaper and more effective at preventing recidivism than simply locking up offenders.

As Right On Crime’s Marc Levin notes, these proven alternatives are the conservative solution to a burgeoning prison system, a problem that had been ignored for too long.

“Policies in various states are finally catching up with what we know works,” said Marc Levin, director at the Austin-based Center for Effective Justice [at the Texas Public Policy Foundation] and a leader in the national Right on Crime campaign, which promotes community-justice solutions.

“For most nonviolent offenders, community-based initiatives are much cheaper and have much better outcomes,” Levin said. “In this time of tight budgets and programs that work, this is the conservative thing to do.”

Similarly, as outlined in a recent piece in the Houston Chronicle titled “Texas says rise in parolees gives state bragging rights,” Texas officials are celebrating further corrections reform success. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has continued its trend of granting parole more often, and revoking it less often; paroles are now granted 31% of the time, a 6% increase over the past decade, and revocations are down 44% from the all-time high (11,374) in 2004.

Most importantly, the state is seeing public safety benefits. Texas is returning more people to their families and communities, while fewer crimes are being committed (three percent fewer this year than in the previous one). Parolees are generally electronically monitored and many more offenders are now completing recidivism-reducing programs in prison, such as education, job training, and/or substance-abuse treatment.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, State Initiatives, Texas

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Rising Prison Costs

August 2, 2012 By Cody Smith

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing titled “Rising Prison Costs: Restricting Budgets and Crime Prevention Options.” The federal prison system, run by the Bureau of Prisons, is in need of reform.  Its ever-increasing budget and poor results (measured by recidivism rates), triggered this Congressional review. The BOP budget has also begun to crowd out other important Department of Justice functions.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) and Senator Mike Lee (R- Utah) were particularly active questioners. Both Leahy and Lee seemed deeply interested in exploring alternatives to incarceration and recidivism-reducing programs. Senator Grassley (R-Iowa) asked a few questions, mostly centered around his concern with the adoption of unproven alternatives to incarceration. Three witnesses testified at the hearing.

The first witness to take the floor, Edward Davis, has been Boston’s Police Commissioner since 2006. Much of his testimony focused on the ineffectiveness of mass incarceration as a solution to drug abuse. “From a criminal justice standpoint, I believe that arresting our way out of [the drug abuse] problem is not the solution. Addiction and profit are huge motivating factors, making the threat of long-term incarceration alone not enough to prevent recidivism.”

Commissioner Davis cited programs such as drug courts and Hawaii’s HOPE Court, which are more efficient and effective responses to drug abuse problems, as preferable alternatives to incarceration for low-level, non-violent drug offenders. He called for comprehensive corrections reform, which would focus on a balanced approach of treatment and targeting recidivism for low-level drug offenders. This would free up more resources for fighting other crimes, particularly violent crime, through proven programs such as Operation Ceasefire.

Dr. Jeffrey Sedgwick, a former director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, provided more circumspect testimony, suggesting that one possible reason for the US’s chart-topping incarceration rate is that we simply have more violent crime than other developed countries. He correctly stressed the need to carefully research any potential reform, and to review the reform after it has been implemented. As with any government program, transparency and performance measures are critical to ensure that policymakers are held accountable for their results.

Finally, Brett Tolman, a former U.S. Attorney testified about the inadequacy of the current one-size-fits all approach to early release through good-time credits. The status quo, he argued, is fiscally unsustainable, a danger to public safety, and a threat to the integrity of the DOJ: “Over the last dozen years, Congress and the Department of Justice have been so focused on prosecuting and punishing crime, emphasizing zero tolerance and tough federal sentences, that there has been an absolute failure to recognize that without an equal focus on recidivism reduction, the tough sentencing laws of the federal criminal justice system may well be the downfall of a once proud and effective agency.”

Tolman sees Texas as a shining example of the better approach, citing its focus on diversion and treatment, which ultimately led to “an unprecedented decrease in recidivism, a savings of nearly $2 billion,” and the establishment of a model for the federal system. As opposed to the current one-size-fits-all approach, categorizing inmates according to the risk of recidivism, and allowing earned time through the completion of recidivism reduction programs, “will result in [a] decrease in crime rates, [a] decrease in recidivism, and an increase in budget flexibility for prosecutors.”

After the testimony, there was an extended period for questions and answers. The hearing is available online here, under the week of August 1, 2012.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog

John Stossel on Overcriminalization

July 31, 2012 By Cody Smith

John Stossel’s recent article, “America, The Law-Crazed,” brings into sharp focus America’s troubling tendency toward incarceration and criminalization. This has been driven by an expansion in the scope and scale of criminalization, with an incomprehensibly large number of criminal laws and a propensity towards more severe punishments.

Stossel’s article covers a variety of topics, from the endless occupational licensing and regulatory burdens on our nation’s most productive members to the often misguided approach to substance abuse which prioritizes incarceration ahead of treatment. The ultimate value of these policies must turn on whom, if anyone, benefits. Stossel posits that it is not the American people, but rather politicians at the expense of the people.

From the article, published originally at Human Events:

I want my government to arrest real criminals — ones who violate our rights — and to lock them up so we’ll be protected. But our politicians go way beyond that. Governments at all levels have long been in the business of forbidding conduct that violates no one’s rights and piling on complex laws to govern conduct that might harm someone. And they keep passing more.

They have created a byzantine maze of criminal law that is so incomprehensible that even legal specialists don’t agree on what the rules specify. Then ambitious prosecutors ruin lives enforcing those laws. The prosecutors and lawmakers say this is for our own good.

No, it’s not.

Filed Under: Overcriminalization, Priority Issues, ROC Blog

New Jersey’s New Approach to Substance Abuse

July 30, 2012 By Cody Smith

Already a vocal supporter of drug courts as a potential alternative to incarceration, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey recently signed into law a bill that will mandate treatment and avoid costly incarceration for nonviolent drug offenders. Rich Lowry’s recent column identifies this as a potential paradigm shift in national substance abuse policies, given Christie’s prominence as one of the country’s toughest conservatives. These days, as Lowry sees it, the national conversation is much more focused on treatment opportunities and ensuring that drug offenders find a way to kick their habit.

Choosing to support treatment, rather than incarceration, does not mean that one is unconcerned with substance abuse. When a careful inspection of the existing policy reveals high costs and low benefits, it is time to reevaluate the policy. Governor Christie and New Jersey’s legislative bodies deserve praise for attempting to find a more effective, less costly response to substance abuse.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, ROC Blog, State Initiatives, Substance Abuse

U.S. House Soon Likely to Vote on the RELIEF Act

July 18, 2012 By Cody Smith

The RELIEF Act (H.R. 3210), which was approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 7, will likely be submitted for a full House vote very soon. This Friday will be the final day for amendments, meaning the Act could be considered as early as next week. The RELIEF Act is sponsored by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) and co-sponsored by a number of prominent Republicans, including Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX).

The Act seeks to scale back a 2008 amendment to the Lacey Act, which came under scrutiny last year when it was used by the federal government as justification to seize lumber, guitars, and files from Gibson manufacturing plants in Tennessee last August. Moreover,  Gibson’s CEO Henry Juszkiewicz, a Right on Crime signatory, could be facing prison time – a sanction that is more appropriately applied to violent criminals like murderers and rapists – for the act of importing rosewood from India for use in the manufacture of guitar frets. (The federal government argues that harvesting and exporting the rosewood is illegal under the laws of India, and these laws are to be construed against Gibson under the Lacey Act – but the Indian government appears to be disputing this claim of illegality.)

A number of significant concerns have been raised by the 2008 amendment, including due process issues concerning the imposition of foreign laws. The RELIEF Act also finds that the 2008 amendment has led to overzealous enforcement (likely a direct reference to the aforementioned raids on Gibson’s factories). Similarly, the Act finds that the 2008 amendment criminalizes behavior that is not inherently blameworthy (mere possession of illegal goods without any attending mens rea requirement) and can result in punishment that is grossly disproportionate to the (so-called) crime.

Filed Under: Overcriminalization, Priority Issues, ROC Blog

Chris Christie on Drug Courts

July 10, 2012 By Cody Smith

New Jersey is seeking to establish a pilot program which will implement mandatory drug court sentences for non-violent, first-time drug offenders. New Jersey Bill S881 was recently passed by both state congressional chambers, and awaits Governor Chris Christie’s approval. This bill will mandate treatment for participants, rather than costly incarceration, and was recently praised by Gov. Christie at a presentation to the Brookings Institution for its emphasis on rehabilitation. The governor expects success from the program, both in the rehabilitation of individuals and in related cost savings associated with diverting these non-violent offenders from costly incarceration.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, ROC Blog, State Initiatives, Substance Abuse

Texas Governor Visits Prison Seminary Program near Houston

July 5, 2012 By Cody Smith

On Tuesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry, as well as state Senators Dan Patrick (R-Houston) and John Whitmire (D-Houston) made a surprise visit to the maximum-security Darrington Unit, to see the new seminary program which is training convicted felons to be ministers. This marked Perry’s first visit to a state prison as governor. Prisoners who successfully complete the program will receive a degree in biblical studies from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is operating and paying for the program. Once the prisoners complete the program, they will be transferred to other prisons to minister to other convicts as the ministers serve out the remainder of their sentences. The recently established program has already been credited with reducing violence in the unit and generally improving living conditions.

An article on the governor’s visit, titled “Perry Visits Prison Seminary Program near Houston,” was published in the Austin American-Statesman, and can be read here.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, State Initiatives, Texas

Ohio Bill Could Improve Job Options for Ex-Cons

July 3, 2012 By Cody Smith

Ohio Senate Bill 337, which is designed to lower barriers to employment for ex-cons, was recently passed by both chambers of the Ohio legislature and sent to Governor John Kasich’s desk to be signed into law. The Marion Star reports:

There are more than 49,000 inmates in Ohio prisons. Ohio Senate Bill 337, if passed, would change the way ex-cons are able to gain employment once released from prison. . . . [I]t also would give employers who hire ex-offenders protection from being held liable for negligent hiring.

The bill is designed to keep “collateral sanctions” – a penalty, disability or disadvantage that is related to employment or occupational licensing as a result of a guilty plea or conviction – from fully preventing employment.

Those convicted of crimes such as theft are still not going to be allowed to work as a bank teller, but ex-offenders would be allowed to take exams required to get state licenses for jobs in the construction industry.

According to Ohio Department of Corrections Director Gary Mohr, who supports the bill, these new measures should have a positive effect on public safety.

“If someone is allowed to get a job, have an income, gain the respect of his family and those around him, then that person is far less likely to commit another offense,” Mohr said. “Our goal is to get these people gainfully employed.”

While SB 337 represents important movement in the right direction, ex-cons still face barriers to employment. The discretion to hire, or not to hire, still ultimately remains with the employer.

The full article can be found here.

Filed Under: Ohio, Parole and Re-Entry, Priority Issues, ROC Blog, State Initiatives

New Mexico Officials Anticipate Overcrowding

June 20, 2012 By Cody Smith

A recent article from the Albuquerque Journal, titled “Returning Cons Cost Taxpayers,” detailed a potential prison crisis and a proposed response. According to a recent legislative audit, New Mexico will likely run out of prison space within the next decade, and it will be forced either to expand existing prisons or build a new one. New Mexico can address the situation by lowering recidivism rates. There are proven alternatives to the traditional methods currently employed that will both reduce recidivism and save taxpayer dollars.

From the article:

Legislative auditors said the Corrections Department could reduce recidivism by focusing on programs with a proven success record, such as drug treatment, vocational and adult education courses and correctional industries that offer inmates a chance to work.

. . .

The state’s budget squeeze has added to the prison system’s problems. There have been cuts to successful court-supervised drug treatment programs, which are intended to help keep offenders out of prison, auditors said.

Corrections Secretary Gregg Marcantel expressed support for the audit in a statement to the committee. He said the department was taking steps to lower recidivism without jeopardizing public safety.

As reform is discussed, it is important to remember the expected cost-savings of the programs. Programs that reduce recidivism and save taxpayer money are beneficial and support for these reforms should be obvious.

Filed Under: Priority Issues, Prisons, ROC Blog, State Initiatives
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