The root cause to our high incarceration rate is: the private, for-profit prison system. Who are they customers? Not the prisoners, but the legal system and courts: they have paid judges to lock up kids for months for truancy from school in Pennsylvania (there are PBS Frontline programs... search private prisons). They get money from the state to lock up people, and then they use their money to buy legislation for "Minimum sentences" (anyone wonder where those came from? Lobbyists!). Sanders introduced legislation to get these Republican-privatization schemes eliminated from our society.
4
We spend all this money and resources on the back end of the problem (welfare, crime, policing, legal system, prisons, human suffering, etc.). Spend it on the FRONT end to address the root cause of the problem! As a society, we should monetarily incentivize high risk individuals (i.e. inner city youth) to not have children until they achieve a minimum level of education that includes mandatory parenting classes. We should provide these high risk communities with COMPLETELY FREE education, birth control (any type they want) and monetary incentives (cash) for achieving college/vocational degrees, delaying procreation, having fewer children, using long-term methods of birth control, and marrying before starting a family. We should also provide them completely free child care during the critical formative years (ages 0-5). We are already spending the money‼! Why not spend it to actually end the cycle of dysfunction, criminality and poverty in these communities? The irony is the way we spend the money now has no end in sight because it perpetuates the cycle that creates the criminality and incarceration. If we changed the focus to education and prevention it would take max two generations to end this vicious cycle. Remember, every single inmate was once a toddler. Children born into educated, stable families tend not to end up in prison. Focus on who is having children and how they are being raised. It affects everyone in society.
1
I've given this topic a great deal of thought because when you look at the science, it clearly shows that behavior and emotional states are intertwined. We have a problem with poor stress management. Not only do we not adequately address stress management in schools, most of the solutions offered (when they are offered) are dose dependent. Research shows that when people are highly stressed, they are far less likely to use dose-dependent stress management tools, even when they know they would help.
The higher the stress level, the lower the emotional state (mood). Other research clearly links desirable behaviors to good moods and criminal behaviors to low moods.
Low emotional states lessen our cognitive abilities, which narrows our "thought-action repertoire" (Fredrickson) The lower cognitive abilities limit the options (solutions) the person perceives, often making the criminal solution the only one the individual perceives--even if someone in a better emotional state would see better options.
Add in the fact that the biggest reason for drug and alcohol problems is people wanting to escape bad-feeling emotional states, which can then lead to criminal activities and you have an additional issue with low emotional state leading to criminal activities.
In my book, Is Punishment Ethical? The Fallacy of Good and Evil, I explore what the research shows we know we can do by teaching children skills that improve stress management and increase resilience.
The higher the stress level, the lower the emotional state (mood). Other research clearly links desirable behaviors to good moods and criminal behaviors to low moods.
Low emotional states lessen our cognitive abilities, which narrows our "thought-action repertoire" (Fredrickson) The lower cognitive abilities limit the options (solutions) the person perceives, often making the criminal solution the only one the individual perceives--even if someone in a better emotional state would see better options.
Add in the fact that the biggest reason for drug and alcohol problems is people wanting to escape bad-feeling emotional states, which can then lead to criminal activities and you have an additional issue with low emotional state leading to criminal activities.
In my book, Is Punishment Ethical? The Fallacy of Good and Evil, I explore what the research shows we know we can do by teaching children skills that improve stress management and increase resilience.
1
After reading about the history of Tyrone Howard, the alleged killer of the East Harlem police officer, and the unsuccessful attempt to keep him in a non-prison program, perhaps this call to cut prison rosters is misguided.
2
The next thing we need are drug and alcohol rehab facilities and psychiatric hospitals. I'm glad even people in law enforcement are noticing the problem.
1
Tough sentencing laws were passed in response to escalating crime. Crime decreased drastically because it was enforced and penalties were applied. Locking criminals up keeps the public safer so why change it? If they want to save money, start deporting the non citizen illegal aliens who make up such a large portion of the prison population.
1
There is no evidence that the dramatic decrease in crime was due to more incarceration.
1
Have you noticed that if you commit a crime, they may just let you go? No more responsibility for individuals. Just watch your back!
When I was in law school, I tried my very best to avoid as many criminal law classes as I possibly could. Only took the very minimum required to graduate.
One of my classmates asked me about that. I had to think a while, but this is what I said: "Crimes are largely a social problem, not a legal one."
Until we make our society -- and its economic advantages -- more equitable and accessible to all, there will be no real solution to criminal activity, via the legal system.
I think the people pushing this effort (detailed in the article) are beginning to see that.
One of my classmates asked me about that. I had to think a while, but this is what I said: "Crimes are largely a social problem, not a legal one."
Until we make our society -- and its economic advantages -- more equitable and accessible to all, there will be no real solution to criminal activity, via the legal system.
I think the people pushing this effort (detailed in the article) are beginning to see that.
9
Indeed, it is a social problem, and as one of the officers observes, "...you can't arrest your way out of the problem."
It has taken a long time for this pendulum to swing, but it looks like people are finally recognizing that the costs, economic and social, are simply counterproductive. Few people mention the devastating costs to the families of the incarcerated. One arrest generally affects many more people who will be in need of social services, and children of people in prison are much more likely to be imprisoned as adults becasue this is what they grow up to think of as "normal program."
I notice that the correctional officers unions are not backing this, but they should be. Prisons are understaffed, and I have no doubt their jobs are secure, though as their numbers drop by attrition, no doubt their unions will lose some of the clout they have had in the past to dictate social policy via the leaders they help to elect. Still, new jobs will arise in mental health and drug rehab facilities which will give employment to the new breed of young people who might otherwise have gone into corrections.
It has taken a long time for this pendulum to swing, but it looks like people are finally recognizing that the costs, economic and social, are simply counterproductive. Few people mention the devastating costs to the families of the incarcerated. One arrest generally affects many more people who will be in need of social services, and children of people in prison are much more likely to be imprisoned as adults becasue this is what they grow up to think of as "normal program."
I notice that the correctional officers unions are not backing this, but they should be. Prisons are understaffed, and I have no doubt their jobs are secure, though as their numbers drop by attrition, no doubt their unions will lose some of the clout they have had in the past to dictate social policy via the leaders they help to elect. Still, new jobs will arise in mental health and drug rehab facilities which will give employment to the new breed of young people who might otherwise have gone into corrections.
1
After one is imprisoned it is extremely difficult to find employment. Therefore we are condemning many to a life of criminal activity once they're put into the prison industrial complex.
Judges and prosecutors should severely limit sentencing for 1st time offenders, especially for petty crime or if one is unable to cough up, (or give blood!), for a fine. For once they're in the system, another lost, unable to work individual is created. Good job! That'll teach 'em. Uh, no.
Even ex-felons have to eat and live indoors too.
Judges and prosecutors should severely limit sentencing for 1st time offenders, especially for petty crime or if one is unable to cough up, (or give blood!), for a fine. For once they're in the system, another lost, unable to work individual is created. Good job! That'll teach 'em. Uh, no.
Even ex-felons have to eat and live indoors too.
5
No where near ahead of the curve. Organizations like Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, founded 13 years ago, have been advocating for this for years.
6
While I applaud these efforts, there is a huge disconnect between the big cities and their relatively progressive politics/attitudes towards criminal justice reform and poor and/or rural areas. Prosecutors in those areas (my experience as a criminal defense attorney is in poor, rural upstate New York), who often run unopposed and are overwhelmingly Republican, have zero incentive and desire to embrace this necessary change. They are, first and foremost, politicians, often gunning for higher political office, who run virtual gulags by virtue of their lack of accountability (it's almost impossible to win a malicious prosecution case or obtain relief from the state bar for misconduct and the vast majority of Judges do not enforce the bare minimum for Brady disclosures, preliminary hearing timelines and/or regularly impose outrageous bail) and lack of any experienced or criminal defense bar due to chronic under-funding of the Public Defender system. Until Prosecutor's are required to seek justice and are held accountable for their misconduct, and PD offices are funded as thoroughly as the Prosecutor's offices, these issues will not be solved.
4
Even suburban areas have this problem. Our District Attorney's Office in Delaware County Pennsylvania has been occupied by Republicans for decades. One of those former district attorneys who has built a political career is 3 term Congressman Pat Meehan. He built his career sending people to jail. He's not the only congress critter to have started as a district attorney, I'm sure there are others. Which is why change at a national level will be an uphill battle.
1
One of my college degrees is in criminal justice. Although it is a true fact about incarceration being used against black and Hispanic men in disproportionate numbers, there is another interesting thing that was not mentioned in this article that I have learned during my research. Women, although being incarcerated in smaller numbers, are given harsher sentences and longer prison time for the same offenses committed by men.
Women, I found, were more often judged to be "very bad girls" and therefore beyond rehabilitation. While in prison they therefore do not have access to the same training and education programs found in male prisons. So even when they are released they have a much harder time finding employment and taking care of families. Even coming back to their own neighborhoods, men can be accepted---perhaps because there may be more of them---but a woman ex-con is treated more harshly socially.
This new initiative cannot control how they are treated and viewed post-incarceration, but we should certainly eliminate the disparity in sentencing women and also give those who warrant incarceration the same opportunities given to men while locked up.
Women, I found, were more often judged to be "very bad girls" and therefore beyond rehabilitation. While in prison they therefore do not have access to the same training and education programs found in male prisons. So even when they are released they have a much harder time finding employment and taking care of families. Even coming back to their own neighborhoods, men can be accepted---perhaps because there may be more of them---but a woman ex-con is treated more harshly socially.
This new initiative cannot control how they are treated and viewed post-incarceration, but we should certainly eliminate the disparity in sentencing women and also give those who warrant incarceration the same opportunities given to men while locked up.
9
“We are in the middle of a sea change focusing on who is in our prisons, why are they in there, and who is making the decisions,” said Mr. Vance, a member of the group’s steering committee. “At the end of the day, this is just common sense. This is nothing radical.”
Perhaps, then, if we are simply talking about common sense (and to take just one example of many that offer themselves) the public deserves to know why Mr. Vance's own office has, over the past six years, devoted approximately a million taxpayer dollars to an atavistic effort to jail the author of a dozen or so inappropriately deadpan email parodies concerning an academic dispute. It is certainly questionable whether this type of case (with First Amendment implications that have been pointed out by Chief Judge Lippman of the Court of Appeals in Albany) merits the money spent or any form of criminal punishment at all.
The defendant in the above-mentioned case has, incidentally, written a rather vivid account of the intake process at Rikers Island, which offers some insight into the "common-sense" attitudes of those who are "making the decisions," as Mr. Vance puts it, in our national jail system. It can be read at:
http://www.manhattanchronicles.com/A-Night-And-Day-at-Rikers-Island.php
Perhaps, then, if we are simply talking about common sense (and to take just one example of many that offer themselves) the public deserves to know why Mr. Vance's own office has, over the past six years, devoted approximately a million taxpayer dollars to an atavistic effort to jail the author of a dozen or so inappropriately deadpan email parodies concerning an academic dispute. It is certainly questionable whether this type of case (with First Amendment implications that have been pointed out by Chief Judge Lippman of the Court of Appeals in Albany) merits the money spent or any form of criminal punishment at all.
The defendant in the above-mentioned case has, incidentally, written a rather vivid account of the intake process at Rikers Island, which offers some insight into the "common-sense" attitudes of those who are "making the decisions," as Mr. Vance puts it, in our national jail system. It can be read at:
http://www.manhattanchronicles.com/A-Night-And-Day-at-Rikers-Island.php
2
Do we have data on how the interaction with the justice system affects behavior? There was an NYT article to the effect hat serving more than 5 years was a waste' subsequent employment my be a problem. It would be interesting to include, but difficult to do, the results from NonJudicial Punishment (NJP) under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Confinement for a week may get the attention of kids testing the limits; the incident is erased in a few years.
1
Okay, everybody has SAID this now. But is anybody going to DO anything about it? Or will it just be a political fad? I don't see the administration or other leadership bills in Congress or state legislatures.
5
Senator Bernie Sanders, who is also running for president, filed a bill in Congress to get rid of the private prison system which has lobbied for minimum sentences, which conveniently fills their buildings and makes them money.
3
I agree. People that do criminal acts like stealing or selling drugs should be rehabilitated and not go to prison. Prison doesn't help them it makes them worse.
5
It's time to implement restorative justice practices across our nation. From misdemeanors to felonies, restorative justice is having a hugely positive impact in our community. In addition to keeping families together, our local 19-year-old restorative justice program has consistently transformed offenders into contributing members of society. Significantly, our restorative justice program results in only an average 10% re-arrest rate (vs. about 70% nationwide recidivism for those who are jailed). Restorative justice offers the victims of crime an opportunity to speak directly to their offender in a safe environment. The offender learns the extent of the harms they caused to their victim and community, and is given an opportunity to repair those harms to the best of their ability. If the penal system has grown because it's become a profitable industry, why not turn restorative justice into something profitable instead?
5
That too many people are in prison is especially true of women -- and even more so of those who are pregnant and those who have children. Unless the woman is incarcerated for hurting her children, the little ones can suffer enormously by her absence.
And as to how many US prisons treat people who are pregnant, this investigative article appeared yesterday:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/20/pregnant-women-prison-sys...
And as to how many US prisons treat people who are pregnant, this investigative article appeared yesterday:
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/20/pregnant-women-prison-sys...
5
When is there going to be an investigation of who exactly is profiting from the "War On Drugs"? Certainly the prison population is substantially related to this insane failure of a program. Prohibition against alcohol financed the Mafia in the USA and now the "Drug War" finances the 20,000 member "Latin Kings" "Crips" "Bloods" "Motorcyle 1% Outlaw Gangs" and international terrorism as Afghanistan harvests a world record heroin crop!! Surely legalization and treatment programs cannot be worse than this! Time to face reality and then and only then will the prison population be reduced and relationships with producer countries will be improved as will the health and safety of all people around the world.
6
This is all cyclical and a pattern of craziness. It's a riddle masked as an answer to a hidden guilt over incarcerating people who break laws. At a time when there isn't money for books and schools, who amongst us believes there will be consistent and adequate funds for mental health services and substance abuse issues? This is pure fantasy and as soon as a steady trickle of parolees commit serious violent crimes we will be outraged and demand harsher penalties. I'm old enough to have seen this before. Not to mention, we are in a current trench of investing in self victimization and politicians are now bending to it to win votes or keep jobs. What a mess. If we don't want to live by laws, do away with them and live with the consequence. But, we can't "sort of" have laws, or have "portable laws".
1
The majority of Americans, in the MILLIONS, obey laws daily. Those who choose not to do so deserve punishment. America's prison population lives better than it's poorest citizens who obey laws. They have a permanent place to live, no food shortage, utilities paid (including tv), gym areas in which to workout, access to free healthcare (that, YES, is better than Obamacare), free education if they desire, free legal representation, free counseling/addiction services if they so desire, recreational/sports teams in which they may participate. I'm sorry, but that, to me, is not punishment nor is it conducive to rehabilitation. Why bother when EVERY need is met?
Better late than never.
1
It is about time. I think the book entitled "The New Jim Crow" is really having some impact. Now how are prosecutors going to increase their profile? if the 1980 drug sentencing laws are scrapped? Lots of folks have built their careers in law enforcement by arresting tons of inner city kids. I also think the SCOTUS needs to review some of its many rulings on the 14&15 amendments.
Oh well, this is good news.
Oh well, this is good news.
3
Most of the 80 Billion dollars/year for incarceration is to placate prohibitionist's need and addiction to punish those who disobey them. Money that should have been used for our education, health care, and other social services was used to destroy many lives of folks caught up in the "Drug War". This total failure caused mass murders across the globe as criminals moved in, fighting for territory, to take advantage of the prohibitionist's laws and make obscene amounts of money. Prohibitionists spread their sickness to other countries who continue to incarcerate, execute and ruin the lives of folks who simply want to be left alone. If they have an issue with drugs it should, once again, be a health matter between them and the doctor as it was before prohibitionists infected our government. Look at the incredible damage prohibitionists have done.
6
What great news for a Wednesday morning! Overcrowding in jails and prisons has resulted in too many violent offenders being released into OUR communities. The idea of mentally ill and addicted people being put in jail is simply sad - imagine the terror they must feel. They are also overloading OUR medical systems because often police take them to emergency rooms where they are given multiple expensive tests, a bed for the night and WE pay the bills. It is time in America for new, modern mental health and drug/alcohol rehab centers where people are actually treated with dignity and trained to re-enter society as fully functioning people or, if that is not possible, given decent basic living quarters where they can live in peace and safety with caring supervision. These could be community-based employee-owned facilities, which would create thousands of socially-conscious jobs.
8
Law enforcement needs to re-direct its focus on crime...to those that are
REAL crimes.
I was in Federal Prison for 5 years for a marijuana offense. No, it was not
for simple possession. I was arrested aboard a Lockheed PV2 in Marianna,
Florida...charged and convicted for conspiracy to import and distribute
12,000 pounds of marijuana.
As those 5 years rolled by, what I did see were armed bank robbers, coming
and going...while I still sat there for marijuana. Most of the bank robbers
only spent 17 to 24 months. But, I and my fellow 'drug offenders,'...we
stayed for YEARS.
REAL crimes.
I was in Federal Prison for 5 years for a marijuana offense. No, it was not
for simple possession. I was arrested aboard a Lockheed PV2 in Marianna,
Florida...charged and convicted for conspiracy to import and distribute
12,000 pounds of marijuana.
As those 5 years rolled by, what I did see were armed bank robbers, coming
and going...while I still sat there for marijuana. Most of the bank robbers
only spent 17 to 24 months. But, I and my fellow 'drug offenders,'...we
stayed for YEARS.
5
Before a resolution can even begin to occur in regard to incarceration issues, one must first understand the language used, and the meanings of, jail, prison, probation and parole.
These words are interchanged in many of the comments made by those in the article, as if they were the same. They are not.
Jail is a short-term secure housing facility, where prison is a long-term secure facility.
Probation occurs prior to and often instead of jail time, while parole is an early release from prison, not jail.
Clear up the language first, as each facility, be it jail or prison, will need to handled in independent ways, and then work can begin on the movement to reduce the nation's incarceration rate.
Hopefully there will be a better understanding in the words crime and serious crime, when it comes to who should be incarcerated or who should be released.
These words are interchanged in many of the comments made by those in the article, as if they were the same. They are not.
Jail is a short-term secure housing facility, where prison is a long-term secure facility.
Probation occurs prior to and often instead of jail time, while parole is an early release from prison, not jail.
Clear up the language first, as each facility, be it jail or prison, will need to handled in independent ways, and then work can begin on the movement to reduce the nation's incarceration rate.
Hopefully there will be a better understanding in the words crime and serious crime, when it comes to who should be incarcerated or who should be released.
1
I'm all for decriminalizing drugs like marijuana, but in my neighborhood there are many drug addicts that are preying on the community with petty theft crimes. There are also so many prostitutes that when the kids walk to school in the morning they are stepping over used condoms and syringes. We have a police chief who says we can't arrest our way out of the problem and it sounds to me like he is simply saying buy more locks for your doors and don't leave anything valuable in your yard. These new policies are just another way for government employees to not do their jobs at the expense of the poor communities. The wealthy just move to gated communities.
3
If the drugs were legal, the price would go down and petty theft would be less necessary to purchase them. If prostitution were legal, it could be regulated into business districts and not walking the streets.
The answer is to make more rational laws, rather than criminalizing any behavior which offends some people's sense of morality. Actions involving willing adult participants should not be illegal, thereby freeing up police resources for those actions that actually harm unwilling persons.
The answer is to make more rational laws, rather than criminalizing any behavior which offends some people's sense of morality. Actions involving willing adult participants should not be illegal, thereby freeing up police resources for those actions that actually harm unwilling persons.
2
There is so much more money in a faster turning "turnstile"...than housing malcontents....it's really quite simple.
Whats not to like........................?
Whats not to like........................?
2
In many DA offices, young grads earn respect of their superiors not by how they apply the concept of justice, but by their conviction rate.
So you have a strong group whose sole aspiration is to convict.
Next you have a civil service group of those who staff the prisons. When I worked as a nurse in the county jail for some years, the first order of business of many of the techs was to order and eat breakfast prior to any work helping those in the psychiatric unit I worked with. So you have a strong group with comfortable jobs whose sole aspiration it is to keep them. And eat a nice breakfast.
Then there is the culture of violence in the prisons, where disagreement is often met with harsh beatings by the deputies. So someone in for something like shoplifting a few items could be seriously injured for a minor infraction depending on how a deputy felt when he got up that morning.
How does that make sense, for us to have to pay taxes to violently hurt someone who stole a stick of gum?
Surely all those people sitting around on the government dime wondering what they will eat for breakfast that day would be better employed by being retrained and in the community, to provide free day care for children whose parents are working, and free assistance to seniors who need help, or other fruitful ideas.
So you have a strong group whose sole aspiration is to convict.
Next you have a civil service group of those who staff the prisons. When I worked as a nurse in the county jail for some years, the first order of business of many of the techs was to order and eat breakfast prior to any work helping those in the psychiatric unit I worked with. So you have a strong group with comfortable jobs whose sole aspiration it is to keep them. And eat a nice breakfast.
Then there is the culture of violence in the prisons, where disagreement is often met with harsh beatings by the deputies. So someone in for something like shoplifting a few items could be seriously injured for a minor infraction depending on how a deputy felt when he got up that morning.
How does that make sense, for us to have to pay taxes to violently hurt someone who stole a stick of gum?
Surely all those people sitting around on the government dime wondering what they will eat for breakfast that day would be better employed by being retrained and in the community, to provide free day care for children whose parents are working, and free assistance to seniors who need help, or other fruitful ideas.
30
Lucille, another statistic: zero prisoners have been incarcerated for stealing a stick of gum. Get real.
I agree about the need to stop using prisons for revenue generation, and for housing of people with drug addiction and mental health issues. But, as many people have pointed out, there needs to be something to fill the vacuum that will be created by having more people with such issues "on the street." In my limited experience, if you have significant problems with either issue, you usually can't get or hold a job...which means you don't have a way to support yourself. So, where can someone like that get money? In rural Alabama, there's no such thing as panhandling but there are plenty of guns and other relatively valuable items in people's homes that can be stolen and pawned for easy cash. Unless communities provide job training (not to mention jobs!), free or inexpensive drug and mental health counseling, I'm concerned that crimes like burglary will increase.
2
Reality check crime has increased an they been releasing prisoners who are violent . To say people arnt hazard to public depends maybe they arnt when go in to jail sure are when get out . Sure way to increase crime so law enforcement can justfy create a police state for rest of us . Don't think cant happen there are evil people alllevels of government
Spend just a little time, even at the county and local levels, observing the penny-ante stuff they routinely send people to jail for, and most right-thinking people would be startled. So many prosecutors are wholly numb to the notion of what prison really is, yet they lobby with all their might to send people there for incredible amounts of time. Thankfully, we are starting to see a top-down approach to fixing this.
4
The crime rate is at historic lows. Why are we going to fix something that isn't broken? I don't want to go back to the Fort Apache, The Bronx days.
1
The United States has the highest documented incarceration rate in the world, at 754 per 100,000. The International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS) at King's College London estimated 2,266,832 prisoners from a total population of 310.64 million (730 per 100,000).
This number comprises local jails with a nominal capacity of 866,782 inmates occupied at 86.4%, state prisons with a nominal capacity of approximately 1,140,500 occupied at approximately 115% and federal prisons with a nominal capacity of 126,863 occupied at 136.0%. Of this number, 21.5% are pretrial detainees, 8.7% are female prisoners, 0.4% are juveniles and 5.9% are foreigners.*
Send the overflow to the Netherlands where they are closing jails and renting cells to Belgium for lack of local clients.
“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
~ FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
* WikipediA
This number comprises local jails with a nominal capacity of 866,782 inmates occupied at 86.4%, state prisons with a nominal capacity of approximately 1,140,500 occupied at approximately 115% and federal prisons with a nominal capacity of 126,863 occupied at 136.0%. Of this number, 21.5% are pretrial detainees, 8.7% are female prisoners, 0.4% are juveniles and 5.9% are foreigners.*
Send the overflow to the Netherlands where they are closing jails and renting cells to Belgium for lack of local clients.
“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
~ FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
* WikipediA
3
While many low level offenders are indeed incarcerated far too often; let us not forget some offenders have earned their place in jail. When even Beer Bandits continue to steal despite being on probation or other correctional supervision, judges, prosecutors and the public are left with little choice but to punish and incapacitate.
It is the mandatory sentencing, either guidelines (like the feds and some states) or written into the criminal statutory penalty itself (under the guise of lets take the decision out of the judges hands) which drives the prison population. Discretion is what you pay judges to exercise. It takes time and thought - which often means you need more judges, prosecutors and public defenders.
The voters must decide if such justice is worth their tax dollars. Unfortunately, voters never envision themselves in such a situation until their own son or daughter is arrested for drug distribution and the addiction problem of their own children is finally exposed.
Then, of course, it is too late.
It is the mandatory sentencing, either guidelines (like the feds and some states) or written into the criminal statutory penalty itself (under the guise of lets take the decision out of the judges hands) which drives the prison population. Discretion is what you pay judges to exercise. It takes time and thought - which often means you need more judges, prosecutors and public defenders.
The voters must decide if such justice is worth their tax dollars. Unfortunately, voters never envision themselves in such a situation until their own son or daughter is arrested for drug distribution and the addiction problem of their own children is finally exposed.
Then, of course, it is too late.
Hear hear! About time we rectified the criminal institutional complex.
2
It is necessary, first and foremost, for legislative bodies to remove discretion from the hands of prosecutors in deciding who deserves to be subject to potential imprisonment. If a crime is not violent, and does not directly victimize another person (e.g., threats of violence or personal theft) then it should never be subject to a term of incarceration. Certain offenses, like possession of small amounts of drugs consistent with personal use should never be subject to incarceration, nor should any fine or ticket associated with a motor vehicle, no matter how long it has been unpaid. Taking people's liberty should be seen as the last ditch alternative to clearly antisocial behavior that harms or has a high likelihood of harming third parties. We imprison people because we are too lazy and dumb to think up realistic alternatives. Kudos to all of these police officials who are calling for action.
25
Reality check get ready for police state its coming ,leave all criminals out jail terrorize our police. Only reason we have prisons is because we have enabled people to be criminals an rewarded people to come to usa who are criminals by hand outs an free ride .Schools are creating super preditors when they should be teaching them criminal justice early age
Your point is clear, but removing discretion results directed actions. What we want is a change in behavior from minimum interaction. Sometimes just being stopped is enough to get our attention and change behavior.
Barbara, exactly how many prisoners were incarcerated for possessing a couple of joints of marijuana, a gram of cocaine or a cube of meth for "personal use"? Read their jackets.
People think we live in a police state now? Wait until the crime rate skyrockets as junkies, dealers and other "victimless" criminals are returned to the streets. Law enforcement will have to grow to cope with the increase.
I wonder now if we will replace the jailing of folks for non-violent drug related offenses with a new group, with the potential to be even larger: non-violent digital pirates/IP downloading. One proposal from Britain was to send them to prison for 10 years. I can see it now: Convict One----"I was sentenced to 7 years for manslaughter", Convict Two---"I was sentenced to three years for domestic violence", Convict Three---"I was sentenced to 10 years for downloading a Taylor Swift song." Ouch, what tats those folks might get in prison.
1
The "US drug czar" could facilitate matters in this area greatly by removing Marijuana from the Schedule I list and reclassifying it where it can be medically justified and not simply politically rationalized.
5
We jail people in droves over harmless flowers, you think we have an incarceration problem?
And don't tell me 900,000 people arrested each year for marijuana "don't go to prison" because (1) yeah they do and (2) an arrest record can be just as bad anyway.
And don't tell me 900,000 people arrested each year for marijuana "don't go to prison" because (1) yeah they do and (2) an arrest record can be just as bad anyway.
4
MONEY. ALCOHOL and TOBACCO have supported harsh penalties toward anyone using drugs or smoking marijuana for decades-it steals their rightful share of vice money! Health care for early alcohol and substance abusers is very cost effective and it is the right thing to do for the lives of millions of young Americans...ALCOHOL use by 25 to 30 percent of 15 to 18 year olds is creating over ONE MILLION disabled, developmentally delayed youth every year-they are the ones who cannot learn, hold a job, sustain a relationship, function socially, or get their own needs met-we see them everyday on the streets and often, in prison.
1
"Police departments and district attorneys have a great deal of discretion when it comes to making arrests and filing charges for minor crimes. But because the public and government officials demand zero tolerance for crimes like shoplifting and possession of small quantities of drugs, such offenses continue to be prosecuted and often come with jail sentences".
I'm not so sure that the public demand zero tolerance - at least not directly.
Rather, police chiefs are pressured to keep their stats up and have quotas which lead to unnecessary arrests. This is probably dictated by horrible politicians who run campaigns of "being tough on crime" way overstating the nature, frequency and tenor of crimes...while being overwhelmed in lobbying money so that banking crimes and gun proliferation crimes are ignored.
All the money wasted on police, quotas, etc would probably be better directed to drug treatment, mental treatment, and banking laws enforcement.
I'm not so sure that the public demand zero tolerance - at least not directly.
Rather, police chiefs are pressured to keep their stats up and have quotas which lead to unnecessary arrests. This is probably dictated by horrible politicians who run campaigns of "being tough on crime" way overstating the nature, frequency and tenor of crimes...while being overwhelmed in lobbying money so that banking crimes and gun proliferation crimes are ignored.
All the money wasted on police, quotas, etc would probably be better directed to drug treatment, mental treatment, and banking laws enforcement.
2
Mandatory minimum prison sentences were originally created because the previous practice of discretionary sentencing often led to wildly different sentences for substantially similar crimes, with lenient and harsh sentences often doled out along racial lines, or by consistently mollycoddling or hanging judges.
So there was no justice.
If the current minimum sentences are now deemed by the body politic to be too harsh, or counterproductive, they should be reduced, not abolished.
So there was no justice.
If the current minimum sentences are now deemed by the body politic to be too harsh, or counterproductive, they should be reduced, not abolished.
Few people are in prison for “drug possession and shoplifting.” According to the White House Officer of National Drug Control Policy, "Among sentenced prisoners under state jurisdiction in 2008, 18% were sentenced for drug offenses. We know from the most recent survey of inmates in state prison that only six percent (6%) of prisoners were for drug possession offenders, and just over four percent (4.4%) were drug offenders with no prior sentences. In total, one tenth of one percent (0.1 percent) of state prisoners were marijuana possession offenders with no prior sentences.” For Federal prisoners, who represent only 13 percent of the total prison population, about half (51 percent) had a drug offense as the most serious offense in 2009. And Federal data show that the vast majority (99.8 percent) of Federal prisoners sentenced for drug offenses were incarcerated for drug trafficking,” not for possession. Shoplifters normally pay small fines of about $250.
For years "drug trafficking" has included buying a few ounces of marijuana and "selling" it your friends. If these people had been buying the 96-roll special of toilet paper at Sam's Club and being reimbursed for 12-roll share of it by their neighbors, would they have been convicted and sent to prison for commodities trafficking? And, if released, would these traffickers been denied meaningful employment because of their criminal history so that they would be in danger of further arrest and incarceration for shoplifting bread and bologna? We need to let these people out AND integrate them back into society
1
Bernie Madoff is sitting in prison even though he's very unlikely to offend again. Taxpayers could likely save a million dollars by not incarcerating an old man for the rest of his life.
For that matter, most people who murder act in a brief moment of stress and are unlikely to repeat. Somebody who murders their wife or husband should receive counseling, not a prison term.
And most drug offenses actually involve a person self medicating. Even drug dealers are often drug users looking to support their habit. Drug treatment and psychological support should be a priority.
Stepping up the sentence when the crime is performed near a school, or at a bank, or with a gun makes little sense either. They just latch on to one aspect of the crime and make it the centerpiece.
Plenty of crimes are committed by people with drug or alcohol problems, mental illness, psychological stress etc. The liberal approach would be therapy, not incarceration.
For that matter, most people who murder act in a brief moment of stress and are unlikely to repeat. Somebody who murders their wife or husband should receive counseling, not a prison term.
And most drug offenses actually involve a person self medicating. Even drug dealers are often drug users looking to support their habit. Drug treatment and psychological support should be a priority.
Stepping up the sentence when the crime is performed near a school, or at a bank, or with a gun makes little sense either. They just latch on to one aspect of the crime and make it the centerpiece.
Plenty of crimes are committed by people with drug or alcohol problems, mental illness, psychological stress etc. The liberal approach would be therapy, not incarceration.
This should not be a surprise that law enforcement groups take this stance. Who is most aware of failed social policy than the cop on the street ? I think the average police officer would prefer fighting actual crime, rather than spending the majority of their time dealing with the effects of failed laws and policies. I do not think it is a reach to postulate a connection between the poor behavior of frustrated officers and the pointless insane circus they are forced to participate in.
3
This policy would be fully enjoyed by the people who literally ransacked and stole a cabin cruiser and Cadillac as well as all of the wiring, HVAC and other articles from a double locked house compound with 12 foot high fences all around. The people and their allies that stole so much copper they took down the grid in the process would love to be embraced by no jail so they could fully profit from the crime.
IF crime is down it's because of demographics and tough policies. (I say IF because I think people are so fed up with the police and their response that they just don't report it anymore and deal with it themselves.) But if you don't want so many people in jail then determine what truly is minor, educate them, employ them, treat them--in jail if necessary--but address the cause.
IF crime is down it's because of demographics and tough policies. (I say IF because I think people are so fed up with the police and their response that they just don't report it anymore and deal with it themselves.) But if you don't want so many people in jail then determine what truly is minor, educate them, employ them, treat them--in jail if necessary--but address the cause.
1
Palm Beach County sheriff Rick Bradshaw wants nothing to do with this. After holding up the county to increase his budget to more than half of our tax dollars (who needs to fund schools when we have prisons and cops??), he must have videos of the entire council or something.
Evidently he will have ALL the tax dollars soon and the other county requirements, like schools, roads, floods, our failed water system, can simply go away.
Some believe he is strong on law and order; we still have runaway crime here, so evidently all the money in the world is not enough for him.
Evidently he will have ALL the tax dollars soon and the other county requirements, like schools, roads, floods, our failed water system, can simply go away.
Some believe he is strong on law and order; we still have runaway crime here, so evidently all the money in the world is not enough for him.
4
It's nice that the same people who have destroyed not just millions of people's lives but the very culture we live in with their reagan-fueled republican orgy of hate and judgement have realized they were wrong. How sweet.
What to do now about the entirety of the US congress and house, the judiciary, the executive branch, filled to the cupola with those whose victories are a direct result of their advocacy for a way of life that encourages the rich to steal while ruthlessly crushing the poor who fight, that prints money to fund wars on the bidding of the weaponry and fuel profiteers, that protects paid-off governors solely interested in destroying the educational system by destroying education as a profession and opportunity as a goal, that has strip mined the ores of compassion and mutual respect and from them forged bludgeons and chains dispatched to divide and cage all remaining enemies of the 1%?
This is the stage of our servitude where the still-corrupt and still-criminal don't-let-them-fool-you-with-this-trojan-horse governing class locks down their continuing and unchanged program of destroying democratic freedom by duping us into thinking the upcoming release of a few hundred miserable people has made us free again. Don't believe the hype. Stay vigilant. The oppressor wears white suits and has a silver tongue.
What to do now about the entirety of the US congress and house, the judiciary, the executive branch, filled to the cupola with those whose victories are a direct result of their advocacy for a way of life that encourages the rich to steal while ruthlessly crushing the poor who fight, that prints money to fund wars on the bidding of the weaponry and fuel profiteers, that protects paid-off governors solely interested in destroying the educational system by destroying education as a profession and opportunity as a goal, that has strip mined the ores of compassion and mutual respect and from them forged bludgeons and chains dispatched to divide and cage all remaining enemies of the 1%?
This is the stage of our servitude where the still-corrupt and still-criminal don't-let-them-fool-you-with-this-trojan-horse governing class locks down their continuing and unchanged program of destroying democratic freedom by duping us into thinking the upcoming release of a few hundred miserable people has made us free again. Don't believe the hype. Stay vigilant. The oppressor wears white suits and has a silver tongue.
14
Last time I checked, the police families I know were struggling with bills and the cost of education and driving minivans like the rest of us. Enforcement, Education and Treatment are the 3 legs of the stool for a successful drug/policing strategy. The jails are full. Schooling is more and more privatized and accessible to islands of wealth and class, the mental hospitals and institutions were closed long ago and halfway houses and out patient facilities went with them. The Jails are full because the laws that were passed by a frightened and vulnerable public were enforced, and jails were the only option. That same vulnerable public, closed institutions, reduced and privatized education, warehoused people in housing projects and prisons and walled themselves off in suburban communities surrounded by freeways and personal guard. The police did their job. Now it's the police telling the rest of us to get our house in order and stop abusing the system. The people that imprisoned, destroyed public education, closed mental health facilities? Look in the mirror.
I don't think the public truly knows the extent to which deinstitutionalization led to an epidemic of homeless, drug abusing mentally ill persons. State hospitals that use to house tens of thousands of persons now house a few hundred. When you empty 95 percent of a psychiatric hospital, what do you expect to happen?
16
Here's what I expected: a decent percentage of the money that was spent on them to follow them into the community where given the proper support structure they could live meaningful lives and yet cost the taxpayers far less. Instead we substituted jails for help, adding that to the other groups of our throw away society that we chose to waste more money on. Far less money could be far better spent to provide structures and opportunities for who swaths of society that we chose to jail.
Taxpayers were more willing to spend money on jails instead of community support programs, and this just applies to many more groups in our society than to the severely mentally ill or drug addicts. We reap what we sow.
Taxpayers were more willing to spend money on jails instead of community support programs, and this just applies to many more groups in our society than to the severely mentally ill or drug addicts. We reap what we sow.
2
I really enjoy reading articles like this. People are finally doing something about fixing mass incarceration! The US jails far more people than any other country, and most are in jail for minor offenses. I'm glad that these group of police officers and prosecutors were able to come together to tackle this problem. It's about time. Like one police officer said in the article, they're just doing what only makes sense. The millions spent on holding people in jail can now be put back into the community for more beneficial uses like education or fixing infrastructure.
3
One place you could start with is bail. An article in Commonwealth magazine shows that you could apply some simple data-driven algorithms to the arrested population and set bail according to a number of factors that would allow more people to be free awaiting trial while reducing the number of crimes committed by people out on bail at the same time. However, old-fashioned prosecutors and judges are scared of data-driven decisions. No amount of mathematical proof can show them there is a better way.
4
Seems like if we addressed the profiteers at many levels of society (private prisons! - who thought that one up?; the drug war; insurance companies dictating medical care; the defense industrial complex) we would all be better off. There must be a more sane way to make money than all this milking off of human distress.
As for these cops supporting mental health treatment, you gotta ask - what treatment? court mandated AA meetings even though AA has been shown to be ineffective and is quasi-unconstitutional, the insurance morass that sends one running to and fro to find a doctor, ridiculously disfunctional community mental health centers etc etc
As for these cops supporting mental health treatment, you gotta ask - what treatment? court mandated AA meetings even though AA has been shown to be ineffective and is quasi-unconstitutional, the insurance morass that sends one running to and fro to find a doctor, ridiculously disfunctional community mental health centers etc etc
6
Good point. There is good mental health treatment but hard to find in the USA.
4
Victims First: If you do not look at the person’s complete record including behavior purposely hidden by anti-victim “juvenile” offense concealment laws then you have no business releasing anyone. The “boys will be boys” ruse does not work in the 21 Century. The political pressure to just open the doors with shoddy research on each person will result in bad guys taking retribution - for starters.
2
I couldn't disagree more with this statement. A member of my family is currently serving a very harsh sentence for an offense related to DWI. So that's the first injustice: > 2 years in prison for an accident with no fatalities, whereas if the accident had occurred in A different county he would have gotten no incarceration at all. He had a rough period during adolescence ( 30 YEARS before this offense) including crimes having nothing to do with violence and for which he DID receive mental health treatment. However his juvenile record most certainly is being considered as a factor in his punishment, quite unfairly. Juveniles have different brain structure and function than adults and cannot be expected to make adult decisions. Yes there should be consequences for juvenile offenses however NO, these should NOT come back to haunt adults with otherwise perfect records of being upstanding citizens.
3
Bill Bratton's and Cyrus Vance's involvement in an effort calling for lower incarceration rates is the very definition of hypocrisy. The NYPD under Bratton continues to make so-called quality of life arrests -- low-level crimes that penalize the poor and mentally-ill at extraordinary rates. Under Cyrus Vance's leadership, the NY County DA's Office has consistently demanded longer sentences for people charges with crimes, and engaged in less plea-bargaining.
If either Bratton or Vance actually wanted incarceration rates lowered, it's in their power to make that happen. Instead, they choose to advance help create high incarceration rates. The idea that they want that to change is laughable.
If either Bratton or Vance actually wanted incarceration rates lowered, it's in their power to make that happen. Instead, they choose to advance help create high incarceration rates. The idea that they want that to change is laughable.
3
A loss and a waste of talent are those youth arrested for selling drugs. Some of them with serious business marketing skills: supply and demand, pricing, quality control, customer relationship, distribution, marketing, etc... but with the wrong commodities.
The missed opportunity here is that their rehabilitation should be training in accounting, business administration, financing and sales. This would provide these offenders with the opportunity to still work independently and they would be able to legally offer their services back into their communities, peer entrepreneurs and the public at large.
Some of the biggest opponents to the legalization / decriminalization of marijuana are drunk on alcohol and intoxicated on prescription drugs for aliments attributed to their poor diets and their sedentary lifestyles. For these individuals to continue to deny others the right to their choice to use natural alternative herbs/medicines is the real crime.
The missed opportunity here is that their rehabilitation should be training in accounting, business administration, financing and sales. This would provide these offenders with the opportunity to still work independently and they would be able to legally offer their services back into their communities, peer entrepreneurs and the public at large.
Some of the biggest opponents to the legalization / decriminalization of marijuana are drunk on alcohol and intoxicated on prescription drugs for aliments attributed to their poor diets and their sedentary lifestyles. For these individuals to continue to deny others the right to their choice to use natural alternative herbs/medicines is the real crime.
6
I would love to upvote this 100 times.
I applaud efforts by police to cut prison rosters because the lives of countless good citizens and their families have been destroyed from unjust laws and overly aggressive prosecutors.
During my fight to overcome many terrible false allegations against me, including my false arrest bit.ly/ChargesDismissedAgainstJonSingerNJRecord, it was so sad to learn how many kind, bright and good people are caught in an endless cycle of injustice that they can't escape.
After experiencing so many challenges in asserting my rights, despite being well educated, with access to financial resources, and the backing of some loving friends and family, it became crystal clear that without those advantages most people are essentially doomed the way things stand today, and my fight is now a fight for them.
Individuals like Mike The Beer Bandit, who got 6 months to a year for allegedly stealing a beer, and so many other good people I met, are either trapped in the system for very minor offenses, or unjustly incarcerated and unable to advocate for themselves.
I have become very disillusioned with our country as a result of my experiences with the criminal justice system. It is heartening to hear that the police want to help end these type of injustices and gives me great hope that I can be proud once again to call myself an American and really mean it when I speak the words "and justice for all" when reciting the pledge of allegiance.
Jon Singer
www.Drive4Rebecca.org
During my fight to overcome many terrible false allegations against me, including my false arrest bit.ly/ChargesDismissedAgainstJonSingerNJRecord, it was so sad to learn how many kind, bright and good people are caught in an endless cycle of injustice that they can't escape.
After experiencing so many challenges in asserting my rights, despite being well educated, with access to financial resources, and the backing of some loving friends and family, it became crystal clear that without those advantages most people are essentially doomed the way things stand today, and my fight is now a fight for them.
Individuals like Mike The Beer Bandit, who got 6 months to a year for allegedly stealing a beer, and so many other good people I met, are either trapped in the system for very minor offenses, or unjustly incarcerated and unable to advocate for themselves.
I have become very disillusioned with our country as a result of my experiences with the criminal justice system. It is heartening to hear that the police want to help end these type of injustices and gives me great hope that I can be proud once again to call myself an American and really mean it when I speak the words "and justice for all" when reciting the pledge of allegiance.
Jon Singer
www.Drive4Rebecca.org
12
Some of the complaints by readers (of this article) include: for profit companies, in places where there is a high rate of unemployment; also: there should be "...treatment instead of incarceration".
No need to reinvent the wheel when northern Europe, for example, has set a standard.
Only when an angry electorate demands change, will it take place.
No need to reinvent the wheel when northern Europe, for example, has set a standard.
Only when an angry electorate demands change, will it take place.
2
Anger is not necessary. This can take place in small towns across the country by people who see that the current system is not working. Every police chief in every town, every prosecutor in every courthouse. Every judge behind every bench can make this change in sentencing. The people have all the power and Now, with social media we have the tools to create a groundswell of change. No anger required. Just compassion and a tweak in where the money is spent.
1
Economics and race are not valid bases for consideration of the new "Soft on Crime" movement.
Economically, we should be at least at economic equilibrium, moving the savings from prisons to rehabilitation and vocational training. Releasing people to the streets and not either treating or training them is in of itself is a crime.
Our laws need to be blind to race--in both directions. We should not see the color of the criminal, nor should we use color as the basis for changing the law. The laws of our country should represent the values of our people imposed with the least impact on liberty. Busting someone for pot, may or may not meet that criterion. But the decision to incarcerate (or free) them should not be based on economics or race, either.
George Adamczyk
Chicago, Illinois
Economically, we should be at least at economic equilibrium, moving the savings from prisons to rehabilitation and vocational training. Releasing people to the streets and not either treating or training them is in of itself is a crime.
Our laws need to be blind to race--in both directions. We should not see the color of the criminal, nor should we use color as the basis for changing the law. The laws of our country should represent the values of our people imposed with the least impact on liberty. Busting someone for pot, may or may not meet that criterion. But the decision to incarcerate (or free) them should not be based on economics or race, either.
George Adamczyk
Chicago, Illinois
6
I think it is important to look at economics when considering if any progress is actually being made by holding people in jail for long periods of time for minor offenses. And race is not the reason for being soft on crime, but was mentioned to describe how our current jail system disproportionately affects minorities, mostly African-Americans. Of course, no matter what race you are, if you commit a crime you should have to pay for it, but there is a trend in which minorities are given tougher jail sentences for the same crimes committed as whites. So that's a problem.
By being "soft on crime", I don't think they mean that anyone will be able to just commit crimes and get away with them. Instead, they're considering of giving fairer jail sentences to crimes that are minor offenses. For example, instead of looking someone for 5 years for a small possession of marijuana, reducing the term to one year and placing them in a substance abuse program. I'm not really sure exactly the logistics, but maybe it would be something similar.
I think that's what this article was saying.
Nikki
Columbus, GA
By being "soft on crime", I don't think they mean that anyone will be able to just commit crimes and get away with them. Instead, they're considering of giving fairer jail sentences to crimes that are minor offenses. For example, instead of looking someone for 5 years for a small possession of marijuana, reducing the term to one year and placing them in a substance abuse program. I'm not really sure exactly the logistics, but maybe it would be something similar.
I think that's what this article was saying.
Nikki
Columbus, GA
The article does not suggest that inmates will be freed based on race or economics. It merely states that non-violent arrests and incarcerations have disproportionately affected African-American men. Laws can never be blind to race, because laws are enforced by people, and people carry inherent biases based on race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion.
I agree. Trying to assuage minority communities by releasing prisoners and watering down laws will not change anything - except increase property crimes. If our country would ensure ALL of its citizens were educated and able to earn a decent living then we'd see some real changes in crime statistics. Do you really think releasing a bunch of criminals will make things better? Go ask Alice, when she's ten-feet tall.
The cops built their Empire by asking Legislators for more laws prohibiting activities they disliked and also asked for more recruits to reinforce their ranks. The in-the-pocket Television and movie industries profusely displayed many cop shows and movies. The police across the nation always overreached in trying to gain new police powers and used endless taxpayer revenues to win those new powers through the legal process. The tough-on-crime Judges always leaned towards the police. The Prosecutors were always the arm of the police fighting to win their cases, again with endless taxpayer resources against poor people or even middle class people who could not afford a comparable defense. That's why the prisons are overflowing.
The American Police Empire, enabled and supported by the Federal, state, local governments, and the military are just too far reaching through society and into the minds of Americans for any meaningful reform to occur.
We are too far gone as a police state. We always will be a Police State.
It is the new nation, once free, now in bondage.
The American Police Empire, enabled and supported by the Federal, state, local governments, and the military are just too far reaching through society and into the minds of Americans for any meaningful reform to occur.
We are too far gone as a police state. We always will be a Police State.
It is the new nation, once free, now in bondage.
When mental institutions fell out of favor, they were supposed to be replaced by community-based treatment centers. The institutions were closed but very few treatment centers were opened. Many of the mentally ill became homeless and eventually ended up in prison.
Now prisons are falling out of favor. But if we close prisons without treating the mentally ill, this will end in tragedy.
Of course, legalizing marijuana and releasing anyone convicted of a marijuana-related offense is a no-brainer.
Now prisons are falling out of favor. But if we close prisons without treating the mentally ill, this will end in tragedy.
Of course, legalizing marijuana and releasing anyone convicted of a marijuana-related offense is a no-brainer.
2
This is the same logic being applied to closing Planned Parenthood. It is duplicitous and portends the same results: big promises for 'community services' ready and willing to fill in the gaps after closing down a successful system with a proven positive history. It is yet another chapter in the continued cynical manipulation of an ignorant populace. And yes, it is political.
US incarceration rate is roughly equal to North Korea's.
6
Tough policing is often credited with reducing the crime rate but there is some evidence it was not the reason the crime rate began to drop in the 1990s.
In 1973 the court case Roe vs Wade made abortion legal in this country and just about 20 years later the crime rate began to decline. There are some who believe that fewer unwanted babies were born and that meant fewer unwanted children were raised and that meant there were fewer angry young adults, beginning in the 1990s.
So the crime rate began to decline.
Unnecessary imprisonment can ruin a life and once spending time in prison, it becomes difficult to get a job and if someone cannot earn a living, the chances they turn to a life of crime increases.
The argument can be made that imprisonment can lead to a higher crime rate. So I agree with these people who want to limit who goes to prison.
In 1973 the court case Roe vs Wade made abortion legal in this country and just about 20 years later the crime rate began to decline. There are some who believe that fewer unwanted babies were born and that meant fewer unwanted children were raised and that meant there were fewer angry young adults, beginning in the 1990s.
So the crime rate began to decline.
Unnecessary imprisonment can ruin a life and once spending time in prison, it becomes difficult to get a job and if someone cannot earn a living, the chances they turn to a life of crime increases.
The argument can be made that imprisonment can lead to a higher crime rate. So I agree with these people who want to limit who goes to prison.
5
This article is shamefully misleading and ought to be tossed into the waste basket. It leaves out a critical detail that undermines the supposed news it reports:
" To win their support early on, authors of the bill in Congress and some officials in the Justice Department told police groups that money saved from reducing prison populations would go to local and state police." http://news.yahoo.com/progress-sentencing-reform-reveals-waning-police-i...
Gimme a break.
" To win their support early on, authors of the bill in Congress and some officials in the Justice Department told police groups that money saved from reducing prison populations would go to local and state police." http://news.yahoo.com/progress-sentencing-reform-reveals-waning-police-i...
Gimme a break.
2
When I consider the massive upswing in crime in certain metro areas, such as Baltimore, I think that perhaps we do not have enough people behind bars.
2
This is a beginning.
To continue
>decriminalize all drug possession
>close all for-profit prisons
>provide free rehabilitation for anyone who wants to stop abusing drugs or alcohol. This will reap enormous benefits eventually if we commit to it.
>stop criminalizing poverty
>stop criminalizing mental illness
>stop criminalizing being black
>stop citing people for petty offenses like jaywalking, loitering, minor traffic violations and such and stop the endless system of imposing escalating fines for these 'offenses' that are disproportionately used in poor and minority neighbors to raise revenue.
The police are responsible for enormous brutality and injustice and likely the majority need psychological screening and need to be retrained. Many innocent people have paid with their lives for unjust laws and unjust, brutal treatment by police officers.
It's going to take more than just changing the laws.
To continue
>decriminalize all drug possession
>close all for-profit prisons
>provide free rehabilitation for anyone who wants to stop abusing drugs or alcohol. This will reap enormous benefits eventually if we commit to it.
>stop criminalizing poverty
>stop criminalizing mental illness
>stop criminalizing being black
>stop citing people for petty offenses like jaywalking, loitering, minor traffic violations and such and stop the endless system of imposing escalating fines for these 'offenses' that are disproportionately used in poor and minority neighbors to raise revenue.
The police are responsible for enormous brutality and injustice and likely the majority need psychological screening and need to be retrained. Many innocent people have paid with their lives for unjust laws and unjust, brutal treatment by police officers.
It's going to take more than just changing the laws.
2
In many ways law enforcement is still stuck in the 18th century English/colonial model. Draconian laws exist to protect the rich from the poor and whites from people of color. As a society we have a tendency to want to exert control over other people, over criminalize behaviors, punish to the point of ruining lives and families, and spend disproportionately on effects of crime not its causes. Long before there was a United States, the 13 colonies were a dumping ground for Britain's criminals, unemployed, and any other unsavory burden on society. This element combined with racist slavery led to the slave patrols and militias which are the progenitors of our modern police state. It's time to address racism, inequality, and poverty (the causes of crime) rather than just its effects.
5
I am of the opinion that repeat violent offenders who are caught with guns or who use any sort of weapon in the commission of a crime should face decades long sentences.
We react with surprise when someone is caught driving drunk. The laws are firmly established, the penalties are high, and everyone knows that that is how the system works.
And yet gun offenders seem to have no fear of the penalties for carrying a weapon. They figure IF they get caught, they might do a couple of years. The penalties are not severe enough.
We react with surprise when someone is caught driving drunk. The laws are firmly established, the penalties are high, and everyone knows that that is how the system works.
And yet gun offenders seem to have no fear of the penalties for carrying a weapon. They figure IF they get caught, they might do a couple of years. The penalties are not severe enough.
2
"But because the public and government officials demand zero tolerance for crimes like shoplifting and possession of small quantities of drugs, such offenses continue to be prosecuted and often come with jail sentences."
I dunno about shoplifting, but the public quit demanding jail for cannabis long ago and public sentiment about mere use of drugs in general is similarly disdainful of such arrests.
Now "public officials" or as they're better know, politicians, yeah, they do that. Prosecutors should be professionalized, but they also run for election. All see m to think the public wants such wasteful policies to continue, but very few people I know think anyone needs to be in jail much except for violent criminals.
Keep in mind that those simply using drugs are often charged with far more serious crimes as part of prosecutors trying to leverage an arrest in the harshest sentence possible. It's pointless when that money would be better spent on treatment than incarceration. It's time to legalize cannabis, which law enforcement does nothing but act as a price support mechanism for the blackmarket and quit asking the police to deal with a health problem which them have no answers or resources for.
I dunno about shoplifting, but the public quit demanding jail for cannabis long ago and public sentiment about mere use of drugs in general is similarly disdainful of such arrests.
Now "public officials" or as they're better know, politicians, yeah, they do that. Prosecutors should be professionalized, but they also run for election. All see m to think the public wants such wasteful policies to continue, but very few people I know think anyone needs to be in jail much except for violent criminals.
Keep in mind that those simply using drugs are often charged with far more serious crimes as part of prosecutors trying to leverage an arrest in the harshest sentence possible. It's pointless when that money would be better spent on treatment than incarceration. It's time to legalize cannabis, which law enforcement does nothing but act as a price support mechanism for the blackmarket and quit asking the police to deal with a health problem which them have no answers or resources for.
6
Policing, where first implemented in England's 1800's, was designed to protect citizens from acts against each other. Somewhere along the way, we decided to police morality and we turned victimless crimes in to a prison nightmare. Drugs, prostitution and other victimless crimes have been around for many thousands of years and criminalizing them doesn't deter activity any more than prohibition did. It did however create and entire industry of criminals that we haven't been able to arrest, detain or deter. Instead, we toss millions of people into cages and somehow expect good things to come of it. How many more decades do we have to live under the yoke of Puritan nonsense and begin to live in the real world?
12
An absolutely despicable turn of events.
Let's translate: We are going to criminals to the streets to continue their ravages upon society. And, because their is such a preponderance of blacks in the system (see comment, below), we will prioritize their release.
The ONLY thing that has made our streets safe has been the profligate construction of prisons during the 1970's- the early 1990's. THE ONLY THING. You can toss whatever 4 syllable ivory tower trash you want at the problem crime, the result will be what it has always been - N O T H I N G. The fear of hard time is what deters. Lose that, and what ever sanity exists in Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington DC (and many others) will be lost.
Protect society. That is job one. I can no longer afford compassion for those who, REPEATEDLY, break the law. I don't want answers. I want protection.
Let's translate: We are going to criminals to the streets to continue their ravages upon society. And, because their is such a preponderance of blacks in the system (see comment, below), we will prioritize their release.
The ONLY thing that has made our streets safe has been the profligate construction of prisons during the 1970's- the early 1990's. THE ONLY THING. You can toss whatever 4 syllable ivory tower trash you want at the problem crime, the result will be what it has always been - N O T H I N G. The fear of hard time is what deters. Lose that, and what ever sanity exists in Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington DC (and many others) will be lost.
Protect society. That is job one. I can no longer afford compassion for those who, REPEATEDLY, break the law. I don't want answers. I want protection.
4
Legalize all drugs and release drug related offenders.
Let the right to choose reign supreme. Who are you to tell me what drugs I can take?
Let the right to choose reign supreme. Who are you to tell me what drugs I can take?
2
The article notes that "This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue.” A closer suggests it is really a financial issue.
5
Here's the key condition that MUST be met in order for this idea work:
"The law enforcement leaders now say reducing incarceration will improve public safety because people who need treatment for drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues will be more likely to improve and reintegrate into society IF THEY RECEIVE CONSISTENT CARE, something relatively few jails or prisons offer."
I serve on the advisory board of an organization that helps recently released prisoners find their way and we struggle to provide the kind of "consistent care" needed for those residents in our program with mental health and addiction problems. We find that their mental health and addiction problems often pre-date their arrests and convictions. Based on my experience as a public school administrator, I daresay the problems emerged in their youth.
Here's why: when "zero tolerance" policies swept the law enforcement field they also swept through schools. When a child with mental health or addiction problems was expelled from school for misconduct related to their condition, they lacked "consistent care" outside of school and ended up in the kinds of trouble that ultimately landed them in jail. The "school-to-prison" pipeline resulted. We close that pipeline if we want to avoid MORE unjust incarcerations. We are reaping what we sowed when we decided "zero tolerance" was a solution for schools. We need to provide "consistent care" for children instead of "zero tolerance".
"The law enforcement leaders now say reducing incarceration will improve public safety because people who need treatment for drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues will be more likely to improve and reintegrate into society IF THEY RECEIVE CONSISTENT CARE, something relatively few jails or prisons offer."
I serve on the advisory board of an organization that helps recently released prisoners find their way and we struggle to provide the kind of "consistent care" needed for those residents in our program with mental health and addiction problems. We find that their mental health and addiction problems often pre-date their arrests and convictions. Based on my experience as a public school administrator, I daresay the problems emerged in their youth.
Here's why: when "zero tolerance" policies swept the law enforcement field they also swept through schools. When a child with mental health or addiction problems was expelled from school for misconduct related to their condition, they lacked "consistent care" outside of school and ended up in the kinds of trouble that ultimately landed them in jail. The "school-to-prison" pipeline resulted. We close that pipeline if we want to avoid MORE unjust incarcerations. We are reaping what we sowed when we decided "zero tolerance" was a solution for schools. We need to provide "consistent care" for children instead of "zero tolerance".
8
Wait a minute...we've got so many criminals on the streets as it is, law enforcement can't keep up, and when they do, they're publicly criticized and malligned for it. I do happen to agree that non-violent, recreational drug-users shouldn't be in prison, so the police leaders need to work on changing those laws that get them arrested in the first place. And then work on getting the mentally ill out of prison, and provide them the opportunity to receive therapy in a proper mental facility, staffed with qualified professionals, rather than prison guards. Then, we'll talk.
4
I believe this is the whole point this group is making.
1
‘Who would you rather have in there — a bank robber or an addict who is aggressively panhandling downtown?’ This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue.”
If you mean by bank robber those people who made shady loan transactions, crashed the economy, then threw people out of their homes; then yes, I'd like to see some of them in jail.
If you mean by bank robber those people who made shady loan transactions, crashed the economy, then threw people out of their homes; then yes, I'd like to see some of them in jail.
19
As a young lawyer in the '70's I visited a local prison. The sleeping quarters were a barracks where the prisoners were in bunks so close to each other that it was possible for a person without leaving his bunk to touch the bunk on either side. It was oppressive. That prison has been closed, but incarcerations still increase.
Having law enforcement and district attorneys take a leadership role in addressing our ridiculous incarceration policies is huge. Despite the recent tarnishing of the police, the vast majority of people still support (if not always respect) them, and want laws enforced. Our politicians seeking votes have tended play on fears and have taken us in the wrong direction. A strong statement by law enforcement may help.
But reduced incarcerations alone won't suffice. In one of his switcheroos, Samuel Butler took us to his mythical Erewhon, where sick people were put into prison and criminals were placed in hospitals (because they obviously needed to be cured). Where I live, North Carolina, funding for mental health facilities has been severely reduced in the past decade or so, and many who need mental health care end up in our jails or prisons. Those with drug and alcohol problems end up there also, as well as other non-violent offenders.
It's about time we realized that taking care of our people is what's needed. As stated in the article, we can't arrest our way out of the problem. What we have largely been doing has been counterproductive.
Having law enforcement and district attorneys take a leadership role in addressing our ridiculous incarceration policies is huge. Despite the recent tarnishing of the police, the vast majority of people still support (if not always respect) them, and want laws enforced. Our politicians seeking votes have tended play on fears and have taken us in the wrong direction. A strong statement by law enforcement may help.
But reduced incarcerations alone won't suffice. In one of his switcheroos, Samuel Butler took us to his mythical Erewhon, where sick people were put into prison and criminals were placed in hospitals (because they obviously needed to be cured). Where I live, North Carolina, funding for mental health facilities has been severely reduced in the past decade or so, and many who need mental health care end up in our jails or prisons. Those with drug and alcohol problems end up there also, as well as other non-violent offenders.
It's about time we realized that taking care of our people is what's needed. As stated in the article, we can't arrest our way out of the problem. What we have largely been doing has been counterproductive.
9
Are you saying that people who break the law are all mentally ill? Don't think so.
When did drug and alcohol addiction become the responsibility of society as a whole? Should those of us who Just Said No have to pay for those who said Yes? As for mental illness, it used to be a family matter, managed by those closest to the ill person. When did it, too, become society's, i.e., my responsibility?
‘Who would you rather have in there — a bank robber or an addict who is aggressively panhandling downtown?’ This is not a political issue, it is a moral issue.”
I totally agree with this, but many of these people have been in prison for a while and let's hope when they get out there are resources to help them. They may have gone in for marijuana possession (which is totally ridiculous) but come out with bigger problems. While I agree, some drugs should be decriminalized, because the war on drugs has been a total failure, when we let people out of prison we have to support them. Remember when we shut down all the insane asylums out of benevolence, we created a homeless population of mentally ill, with few services to help them. When I hear this will save money, I get nervous. That was supposed to save money too. What would save money is to stop contracting out work to private prisons and using the profits these companies make to provide real services to the people affected. It's like cutting out the middle man, but we just don't seem to get that, take healthcare...just saying.
I totally agree with this, but many of these people have been in prison for a while and let's hope when they get out there are resources to help them. They may have gone in for marijuana possession (which is totally ridiculous) but come out with bigger problems. While I agree, some drugs should be decriminalized, because the war on drugs has been a total failure, when we let people out of prison we have to support them. Remember when we shut down all the insane asylums out of benevolence, we created a homeless population of mentally ill, with few services to help them. When I hear this will save money, I get nervous. That was supposed to save money too. What would save money is to stop contracting out work to private prisons and using the profits these companies make to provide real services to the people affected. It's like cutting out the middle man, but we just don't seem to get that, take healthcare...just saying.
10
Although large police departments obviously see the proverbial hand writing on the wall; unfortunately too many small departments in rural [poorer] communities will never accept this "enlightenment". Entire city and county economies ride on the backs of the incarceration business model. It fuels school attendance with increased ADA, increased tax base, consumer spending and housing development plus it assists in counting population increases by counting inmates- for funding. Too many communities have chased after almost unlimited Jail-space funding and building sprees and will not give it up without a fight-plus prosecutors in small communities hinge their entire political careers on the get-tough-lock-them up platform. In California we are finally seeing the folly of building more prisons and jails than we can afford but still too many of the 58 Counties are dependent on the incarceration economy to acknowledge the obvious while neglecting other vital community needs.
6
Some of the most INEPT police leadership in the nation want to turn criminals loose on the street?
Shocking
Shocking
9
And what is your interest in fat budgets for wasteful prisons and bloated law enforcement payrolls and pensions? The cash cow which is the current criminal justice system is going on a diet. The pursuit of justice was never meant to create a class of parasites and oppressors, not to mention racists.
37
I encourage everyone to go to their local criminal courthouse and watch how the employees move through the hallways.
It gives new meaning to the words "lethargy" and "sloth."
It gives new meaning to the words "lethargy" and "sloth."
Private Prisons are a vile concept but the fact remains that 80-90% of all homicide victims and perpetrators have Criminal Arrest Records and putting more of them into circulation is just asking for the murder rate to go back to Clinton Era Homicide Rates.
For many decades upon decades the American Police built their Empire, always asking legislators for more laws and more cops to reinforce their ranks.
Now they seek to stop their Empire building?
I just don't believe it.
I doubt the police want to lose their jobs. There must be an another motive at work in this police cabal.
Now they seek to stop their Empire building?
I just don't believe it.
I doubt the police want to lose their jobs. There must be an another motive at work in this police cabal.
12
Follow money. The pensions are at risk.
I can't avoid feeling a bit irked seeing our police chief, McCarthy, playing poster boy for this movement. Th dead and wounded toll he on Chicago's streets from gang gun violence exceeds that of our military campaigns. We've just passed the 400 gun murder mark, quite a nice milestone coming into ththe 4th quarter. In the increasingly rare instances when any of these cases are solved the shooters are nearly always out on parole and have long records of violent crimes. And there's McCarthy hoping to sprinkle the prisons with get-out-of-jail cards. Lovely.
13
Sweet home Chicago, toughest gun laws in the nation. A land where only the criminals are armed, and there are soon to be many more of those. 5 decades of Daleys will get you that.
Decriminalize weed and simple possession of other drugs. The war on drugs has failed but we continue to incarcerate folks for nonsense
77
How ironic that DeBlasio just signed a bill criminalizing synthetic marijuana K2. I guess it's time for tougher laws and stiffer penalties when dozens of homeless suddenly start nodding out on 125th Street sidewalks, giving his administration a bad rap. Meantime, if you step onto the subway at rush hour, and the entire car reeks of pot fumes, that's all in the spirit of decriminalization.
To a cop with a cold robot personality trained to view all people as enemies, everyone can be mentally ill by their definition. Display anger before them and off you go to the hospital, your life ruined for years to come.
Why don't people talk about why so many people are deemed mentally ill?
What is normal behavior to everyone is an aberration to those robot cops.
Why don't people talk about why so many people are deemed mentally ill?
What is normal behavior to everyone is an aberration to those robot cops.
17
I've worked in the criminal justice system for over thirty years, and have seen many different approaches to reduce crime and recidivism. Now it seems that the system should be run by social workers and bean counters. What looks good in theory make not work in practice. If there is no mechanism to require treatment instead of incarceration, the addicts will continue to use and the mentally ill will not comply with treatment. They will continue to commit crimes. And in all of this, there is never a mention of victims. Shoplifting maybe a minor crime to the police, but if your small business is continually victimized, it's not a minor crime to you.
17
End the "privatization" of prisons. This allows for-profit companies to take 25-30% of our money "off the top". It's a complete ripoff and a disgrace to our country. We need public employees and local/public control of ALL our prisons. Get rid of these freeloaders.
114
And years ago we had public employees running jails. They were no better.
For heaven's sake, I've read countless articles over the past year about criminal justice and prison reform - WHERE'S THE BEEF??!!
13
What politician is going to call for reduced prison time for bad boys? The opposition would eat them alive.
Quite good and intelligent development for what is considered by some Americans to be a civilized society.
7
It's time for the for-profit prison industry to close up shop. When Eisenhower told Americans to beware of the Military Industrial Complex, I'm sure he couldn't have even conceived of the Prison Industrial Complex.
96
Praise the Lord! The incarceration rate in this country is an obscenity—a miscarriage of justice of the highest order.
62
Please do not allow the past to destroy the future.
Let's all work together to make America better. (If we don't work together to make America better, it [America] will just get worse and worse.)
To begin with, let's STOP killing each other!!!
Let's all work together to make America better. (If we don't work together to make America better, it [America] will just get worse and worse.)
To begin with, let's STOP killing each other!!!
8
Marijuana should be supplied to drunks at government expense, because alcohol is much more harmful than marijuana. This is the opposite of jailing or imprisoning marijuana users, but it is the right thing to do. Some Canadian cities have done this at taxpayer expense for over a decade.
To see more suggestions for improving America, go to YouTube and watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Then send a buck to Bernie and invite me to speak to your group.
I do not use marijuana or any other recreational drugs aside from beer and wine in very limited amounts, but jailing people for using marijuana is obscene. The only people who benefit from jailing marijuana smokers are their jailors. The largest contributor to the anti-legalization vote on pot here in California was the prison guards union.
To see more suggestions for improving America, go to YouTube and watch Comedy Party Platform (2 min 9 sec). Then send a buck to Bernie and invite me to speak to your group.
I do not use marijuana or any other recreational drugs aside from beer and wine in very limited amounts, but jailing people for using marijuana is obscene. The only people who benefit from jailing marijuana smokers are their jailors. The largest contributor to the anti-legalization vote on pot here in California was the prison guards union.
38
Jailing people for using marijuana is obscene. But that doesn't make marijuana distributed as medicine safe or effective. Your example is a false dichotomy. Distributing marijuana "to drunks" makes stoned drunks - it does nothing for their alcoholism except complicate the problem. The issue isn't the harm caused by alcohol vs. marijuana. What's the harm caused by alcohol AND marijuana? There is substantial evidence that the use one of these substances complicates treatment for the other.
1
While you are at it why not hand out needles and a bag of H?
1
Great. Good for them. Now when am I going to read the headline "Police Leaders Join Call for Meaningful Gun Control Measures"? You know, so less cops get popped, if not for civilian safety?
Current interpretations of the 2ndA notwithstanding, the constitution is on their side on this. They just have to WANT to keep their fellow officers safe, instead of bizarrely following the lead of the NRA's "gun's don't kill people..." because its politically convenient. Their fellow officers in blue are dying because of their silence.
Current interpretations of the 2ndA notwithstanding, the constitution is on their side on this. They just have to WANT to keep their fellow officers safe, instead of bizarrely following the lead of the NRA's "gun's don't kill people..." because its politically convenient. Their fellow officers in blue are dying because of their silence.
44
This horrible nightmare is beginning to get undone.
One in three blacks...
One in three blacks...
27
Too late and too many dead people.
There was the "War on Crime", the "War On Drugs".......it was all a war on the people.
The federal Government led the nations police forces into this police/prison totalitarian state that is just like any other Communist nation.
The federal Government trained cops to become a repressive force with absolute predatory control over society.
The federal government equipped the nations police with war weapons.
The federal government is building a massive inter-department communications system to coordinate all police nationally.
The cops enjoyed making arrests to get greater pay and advancement.
I'll never forgive or like cops again as much as I did in my youth.
When I was young fifty years ago, there were far fewer laws and less cops. There was freedom and the people lived up to the responsibility of that freedom.
Now America is a massive jail and I will never forgive cops for what they have done to this nation.
There was the "War on Crime", the "War On Drugs".......it was all a war on the people.
The federal Government led the nations police forces into this police/prison totalitarian state that is just like any other Communist nation.
The federal Government trained cops to become a repressive force with absolute predatory control over society.
The federal government equipped the nations police with war weapons.
The federal government is building a massive inter-department communications system to coordinate all police nationally.
The cops enjoyed making arrests to get greater pay and advancement.
I'll never forgive or like cops again as much as I did in my youth.
When I was young fifty years ago, there were far fewer laws and less cops. There was freedom and the people lived up to the responsibility of that freedom.
Now America is a massive jail and I will never forgive cops for what they have done to this nation.
25
They had a little help from the voters.
2
Bravo! I'll leave it at that.
21
My god, we've lost our collective mind! Only in America do we prevent law abiding citizens from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights but contemplate releasing convicted criminals from jail because there are too many of them.
7
"Only in America do we prevent law abiding citizens from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights..."
Where in this article does it mention preventing "law abiding citizens from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights?"
"...but contemplate releasing convicted criminals from jail because there are too many of them."
I think you're missing the point. Consider this from the article:
"Asserting that 'too many people are behind bars that don’t belong there,' the officials plan to announce on Wednesday that they have formed a group to push for alternatives to arrests, reducing the number of criminal laws and ending mandatory minimum prison sentences."
And,
"The law enforcement leaders now say reducing incarceration will improve public safety because people who need treatment for drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues will be more likely to improve and reintegrate into society if they receive consistent care, something relatively few jails or prisons offer."
Where in this article does it mention preventing "law abiding citizens from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed rights?"
"...but contemplate releasing convicted criminals from jail because there are too many of them."
I think you're missing the point. Consider this from the article:
"Asserting that 'too many people are behind bars that don’t belong there,' the officials plan to announce on Wednesday that they have formed a group to push for alternatives to arrests, reducing the number of criminal laws and ending mandatory minimum prison sentences."
And,
"The law enforcement leaders now say reducing incarceration will improve public safety because people who need treatment for drug and alcohol problems or mental health issues will be more likely to improve and reintegrate into society if they receive consistent care, something relatively few jails or prisons offer."
28
No, Larry—you've lost your collective mind if you really think more people belong in jail in this country than in any other.
38
Some people don't actually "read" the articles it would appear.
17