Criminal justice progress possible
Good public policy is not always easy. Reasonable people can disagree on how to achieve a desired result. It takes open communication, dialogue and compromise. When issues become politicized and positions become talking points, good public policy become even more difficult to achieve.
In the area of criminal justice reforms, however, we are seeing positive movement led by Oklahoma’s district attorneys, legislators, business leaders and the governor’s office. Late last year, the district attorneys approached advocates of criminal justice reform with proposals on how to compromise on a number of pieces of legislation in ways that can continue to protect public safety while continuing to move our focus toward rehabilitation and the subsequent long-term improvement of the safety of Oklahoma families.
The proposal from the district attorneys urges more funding for substance abuse and mental health treatment, drug courts and diversion programs in an effort to change the trajectory of an offender’s life path. We also believe it is time to change the structure of our criminal provisions to a new classification system that groups crimes by their threat to the public. Doing so would allow for an individual’s criminal history to be considered and addressed in a more uniform way and a “criminal schedule system” would ensure a common understanding of the seriousness and risk of the crime to the public. As part of the restructuring process, crime penalties can be reviewed and adjusted accordingly. Under this structure, “low-level nonviolent offenses” could be identified and grouped together in one classification schedule as could more “serious crimes.”
With this backdrop, the district attorneys have proposed amendments to legislation stuck in committee in hopes of moving them forward. For example, we can all agree the public safety risk for the crime of “knowingly concealing a stolen firearm” does not vary based on the value of the weapon. This and other common-sense modifications are what the DAs are seeking in an effort to ensure criminal justice reforms happen without jeopardizing public safety.
We also believe it is time to work with the Department of Corrections, the Pardon and Parole Board and the court system to address ways to better transition truly low-level, nonviolent offenders into society. This could include potentially reviewing these cases. Although this will take an investment in parole supervision, the savings in fewer inmates in beds should help our fiscal situation without jeopardizing public safety — our top concern.
As district attorneys, we have been very pleased with the willingness of the criminal justice reform advocates to listen and discuss ways we can work together, and we look forward to a successful legislative session.