In Florida, crime survivors need stronger safety policies

Too often, cycles of crime and repeat victimization have not been stopped because Florida’s policies have overly relied on incarceration as the solution. We could make a real difference if we focused on preventing crime, ensuring people exit the justice system better than when they entered, and meeting the needs of crime survivors.

I know first-hand the trauma that comes in the wake of a crime. As a child, I was a victim of sexual assault, and I was assaulted again as an adult. I’ve worked with crime victims for the past eight years, including as a victim advocate for survivors, families and other marginalized LGBTQ+ community members of Orlando’s 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, helping to ensure they received trauma services.

That’s why I, along with over 400 other crime survivors, traveled to the Florida Capitol last week to advocate for change with the release of our “#SurvivorsSpeak 2020 Safety Agenda.”

Last year, we worked with the Florida House to support an array of justice system reforms in HB 7125 — the most expansive in Florida’s past 20 years. These included reforms to reduce wasteful overincarceration and recidivism, eliminate counterproductive restrictions on jobs for people returning to their communities, and remove barriers that crime victims faced in accessing support from the state’s victim compensation program, among others.

This year, we are hoping to build on some of those important criminal justice reforms. We have mobilized to support legislation that would create more housing and job protections for crime survivors, further improve the probation system, and incentivize rehabilitation for those incarcerated to reduce recidivism.

Lawmakers can build on changes to the law enacted last year to support domestic violence victims by expanding housing and job protections to survivors of all violent crime. This is a common-sense solution that will prevent crime victims from being re-traumatized or harmed further after a tragedy.

A 2018 study of Florida crime victims found that 4 in 10 victims reported wanting emergency or temporary housing assistance in the wake of a crime, yet only 4 percent received it. The study also showed 1 in 4 survivors of crime experienced trouble with work or school afterwards, and too many are forced to make the impossible choice of prioritizing their health and safety or lose their job.

It’s time to provide crime victims with the necessary protections to relocate for their own safety without facing negative economic consequences. Equally important is the ability for a crime survivor to take leave from work to recuperate without facing the prospect of losing their job.

There are also additional steps the Legislature can take to reduce recidivism, whether by continuing with improvements to our probation system or incentivizing participation in rehabilitative programming for those who are incarcerated and will be released.

In Florida, current laws limit the ability for someone to earn credits towards shortening their sentence when they complete rehabilitation, treating people the same whether it is their first or fifth time sentenced to prison. This year, survivors want lawmakers to increase the availability of these credits in smart, targeted ways to incentivize rehabilitation that stops cycles of crime. When we ensure people take accountability for their rehabilitation, people will come out of prison better rather than worse, and far less likely to commit future offense.

Our agenda also supports an expansion of HB 7125’s probation system improvements to ensure people successfully complete probation. A recent study showed that 7% of people in Florida prisons are there for a technical violation of supervision, which can be as small as missing a meeting or a traffic violation.

When people are eligible for alternative, non-prison sanctions for a technical violation, they can still be held in jail pretrial for up to two months in some parts of the state. This can cause people to lose jobs and families to lose economic stability, some of the consequences alternative sanctions are meant to prevent. Limiting the time people can be held pretrial for technical violations is simply common sense.

To end cycles of crime and improve public safety, it is critical that Florida leaders focus on what works in the justice system and provide real supports to meet the needs of crime survivors. If we prioritize prevention, rehabilitation, and trauma recovery, instead of wasteful spending on over-incarceration, we can make our communities safer.