Smarter policies for safer communities
Our criminal justice system is overburdened and costly, and is not making us safer. As executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC), the safety of Coloradans is my first priority. Every day I work to ensure that dangerous people are behind bars; that our prisons are both secure and environments conducive to rehabilitation; and that when our prisoners have completed their sentences, they are equipped with skills and support to make their transition back into our communities as successful as possible.
Unfortunately, our nation’s current approach to criminal justice makes my job more difficult. My experience has taught me that good crime control policy is not about locking everyone up, it’s about locking the right people up. However, in our current system, too many individuals are being given unnecessarily harsh sentences for even low-level, non-violent crimes. Many of these people are suffering from substance-abuse disorders or mental health issues, and while prison may serve as a temporary bandage, it does not address the root cause of the problem.
Fortunately, today there are increasing calls for a smarter approach to incarceration. Last year, I joined a group of more than 165 current and former law enforcement officials in calling for criminal justice reform. Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime and Incarceration advocates for smart changes to our system that would improve public safety and reduce unnecessary incarceration. One example is the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, federal legislation that would significantly amend many current mandatory minimum sentences.
If passed by Congress, the bipartisan bill would reduce many mandatory minimums for drug offenses and provide retroactive relief to current non-violent, low-level prisoners who were sentenced under outdated, overly harsh laws. It would also expand re-entry programs, which would reduce recidivism when prisoners are released.
It’s clear a smarter approach is needed. Locking up low-level offenders has put a significant strain on our prison resources and on the taxpayer. Today, prisons across our country are grappling with overcrowding. Within our federal system, the Bureau of Prisons system is currently 23 percent over capacity, endangering the safety of both prisoners and staff. Ballooning prison populations have also caused budget shortfalls, forcing many correctional administrators to cut vital programming that they know to be effective in reducing an offender’s likelihood of ending up back in prison.
By reducing prison time for low-level offenders, we can ensure that prison space is being reserved for those who pose the greatest threat to our communities. By increasing programming in prisons, rather than just using them as warehouses, we can rehabilitate offenders while they are in prison to increase their likelihood of success upon their transition home.
Corrections and law enforcement officials are called to protect our communities. It’s time for our federal legislators to join
the call and pass this bill.