Getting Criminal Justice Right

Senate P residents Forum

January 16, 2015
Fort Lauderdale, FL

Marc A. Levin, Esq.

Policy Director, Right on Crime
Center for Effective Justice, Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)
(512) 472-2700, mlevin@texaspolicy.com
www.texaspolicy.com & www.rightoncrime.com

Introduction

TPPF Mission:
Personal Responsibility, Free
Enterprise, Limited Government,
Private Property Rights

We apply these foundational

principles to criminal justice,
working with our chief partner
Prison Fellowship as well as
allies such as the Heritage
Foundation.

The TPPF Portfolio

Fiscal and tax restraint

Civil justice reform (worked

to enact loser pays in 2011)

Center for Tenth Amendment

Studies

Deregulation of (over)regulated industries

like insurance and utilities

Center for Effective Justice launched in

March 2005, Right on Crime in Dec. 2010

Failed Concepts of the 60s

That Led to Prison Boom:

A P endulum That Needed to Sw ing But Sw ung Too Far

Eschewed personal responsibility blamed

society & low self-esteem

Underestimated need to incarcerate violent

and dangerous offenders

Insufficient focus on victims

Didnt realize better policing

can reduce crime & prisons

Caving to unions on prisons

Conservative Leaders Weigh In

Jeb Bush, Speaker Newt Gingrich,

Drug Czar Bill Bennett, A.G. Ed
Meese, J.C. Watts, and other
conservative leaders endorse
Right on Crime Statement
of Principles

Statement supports Personal Responsibility,

Cost-Effectiveness, Emphasis on Restitution,
and Performance Measures and Incentives
to Move from a System That Grows When it
Fails to One That Rewards Results

Favorably covered
in outlets such as:

Momentum is Building on the

Right for Criminal Justice Reform
Governors who have pushed or presided
over reforms include:

Bobby Jindal (LA)

Tom Corbett (PA)
Mitch Daniels (IN)
John Kasich (OH)
Dennis Daugaard (SD)
Nathan Deal (GA)
Rick Perry (TX)
Sam Brownback (KS)

Leadership of Governors

LA: Gov. Jindal:

hammer away at dubious
distinction of highest
incarceration rate in the
world with day reporting,
jail reentry & work release

Gov. Bobby Jindal

TX: Gov. Perry: rehabilitate nonviolent

offenders, and spend less locking them
up again

Govs. Kasich, Deal and Corbett achieve

comprehensive reforms

Recalling Reagan

Gov. Reagan in 1971:

Our rehabilitation policies
and improved parole system
are attracting nationwide
attention. Fewer parolees
are being returned to prison
than at any time in our
history, and our prison
population is lower than
at any time since 1963.

Finding the Right Intersection:

Conservative Principles
& Criminal Justice Reform

1) Prioritizing Public Safety

Research has for many nonviolent

offenders alternatives such as problemsolving courts, faith-based programs,
graduated sanctions, electronic monitoring,
and treatment-based
interventions for mentally
ill offenders can produce
better public safety
outcomes than a revolving
door of incarceration.

2) Controlling Spending

Locking up adults costs $30,000 a year.

Locking up juveniles costs as much as

$226,000 per year in NYC juvenile detention.

If a first-time delinquent goes on to a life

of crime, societal cost is $2
to $3 million.

Address fiscal disincentive

to use alternatives if counties
bear much of that cost.

3) The Restitution Principle

and Giving Victims a Voice

Restitution is the core

principle of criminal justice
in the Bible and nearly every
major religious tradition.

Focus on the harm to a

specific victim rather than
notion of repaying debt to
society by going to jail.

The Victims Perspective

Survey of I ow a Burglary Victim s

Sanction
Restitution
Community Service
Pay Fine
Regular Probation
Treatment/Rehabilitation
Intensive Probation
Short Jail Term
Boot Camp
Work Release Facility
Prison Sentence Year or More

Percent Requesting
81.4%
75.7%
74.3%
68.6%
53.5%
43.7%
41.4%
40.0%
34.3%
7.1%

1997 Iowa Crime Victimization Survey, University of Northern Iowa.

4) Liberty & Limited Government

There are more than 4,500 federal

offenses and states such as Texas
and Arizona have more than 1,000.
Most deal with ordinary business
and recreational activities.

Gibson Guitar raid, EPA police

arrested a custodian in D.C., and
massive bills like Dodd-Frank
contain many criminal penalties.

In Texas, a law was passed to stop

government schools from ticketing
10-year-olds for chewing gum.

Head of Secret Police Under Stalin

Laverntiy Beria on
Overcriminalization
You

bring me
the man, I'll find
you the crime.

5) Accountability

Must demand outcome-oriented performance

measures such as recidivism, educational
advancement, employment, and victim
satisfaction.

In education, a focus on teacher quality

but not a single google result
for probation officer quality.
Schools rated on metrics such
as graduation rate and test
scores, but no similar
accountability for prisons.

6) Redemption

A small number of offenders are incorrigible,

but most of the 7 million Americans under
correctional control can change.

Empirical research by
Byron Johnson at
Baylor University has
shown many of the
most effective programs
for changing the mind
and heart have a faithbased component.

7) Centrality of the Family

Unnecessary incarceration breaks up families

leads to millions in foster care expenses and
billions in unpaid child support.

Emphasize strategies that keep the family

intact. For example, some mothers can be
given treatment for
an addiction that
thereby improves
the home environment so they can
keep their child.

How Texas Cut Crime and Costs

Increased availability of proven alternatives

such as drug courts.

Expanded in-prison rehabilitation programs

to reduce recidivism

Increased availability of diversion programs

for nonviolent mentally ill offenders.

Avoided $2 billion in prison

costs while the drop in crime
exceeded the national decline.

Texas Trend:

Lower Incarceration and Crime Rates

Year

FBI Index
Crime Rate

Incarceration
Rate Per 100k

2005

4,857.1

681

2012

3,770.4

601

% Change

-22.4%

-11.7%

Texas crime rate has reached its lowest

level since 1968.
Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics and
Texas Law Enforcement Agency Uniform Crime Reports

Problem-Solving Courts

Drug courts: 34% lower recidivism should focus on high-risk offenders who
would have gone to prison

Hawaii HOPE Court with regular testing,

treatment as needed, and weekend jail
in few cases of non-compliance: 2/3 less
re-offending, costs a third of drug court

Mental health courts:

Am erican Journal of
P sychiatry : less total

& violent re-offending

Strengthening Supervision

Bolster graduated sanctions & incentives

Enhance use of risk/needs assessments

to match offenders with programs

FL Study: GPS monitored probationers

were 89% less likely to be revoked, also
look at cell phone with voice recognition

Address waiting lists in many states for

substance abuse and MH treatment

New treatments for

heroin and alcoholism

Drug Sentencing Reform

Under Florida's sentencing laws, 44 pills of

oxycodone results in a mandatory
minimum sentence of 25 years in prison,
the same as a child rapist.
Require probation, treatment, and drug
court in low-level possession cases in lieu
of prison unless the offender has a prior
substantial record and judge finds danger
to public safety.
The states of SC, KY, OH, GA,
and AR have reduced low-level
drug possession penalties.

Incentive Funding
& Risk Assessment

CA, IL, AZ, TX & OH passed performancebased probation funding measures providing
departments with incentive funding for
fewer commitments, fewer new crimes, and
more restitution. AZ. measure led to 31%
fewer new crimes and 28% fewer
revocations.

IL bill requires system-wide use

of assessment instruments that
match risk and needs to supervision strategies, tracking an
offender throughout system.

The Earned Time Revolution

States such as GA, TX, and OH have

recently adopted or expanded earned time
for lower-level offenders.

ALEC model legislation and pending bill by

Senators Cornyn & Whitehouse.

Studies of policies in NY,

WI and WA find reduced
recidivism as offenders
have incentive to complete
rehabilitative programs.

Expand Post-Release Supervision

2014 Pew study: More than 1 in 5 inmates

are released without supervision.
Pew 2013 New Jersey study found similar
inmates put on parole had 36% fewer new
offenses than maxouts. Promotes
continuity of care
for mentally ill.
Use some savings
from reduced time
served to expand
post-release
supervision.

Making Victims Whole

Probationers pay $391 million in restitution

(at least 34 times more per offender than
inmates) and do 135 million service hours.

Victim mediation: 14 states with statutes.

Must be chosen by victim & offender. Proven
to increase victim satisfaction as a result
of apology and
completion of
restitution in
89% of cases.
Studies show
reduced recidivism.

Remove Barriers to Re-entry

Enable ex-offenders
to obtain provisional
occupational licenses

Provide protection
to employers from
negligent hiring lawsuits

Ensure those who are discharged from

prison leave with supervision, photo ID,
and a volunteer mentor

Implement nondisclosure of records

Stop Criminalizing Capitalism

Texas has 11 felonies

relating to harvesting
oysters.
Repeal unnecessary
laws and establish default
m ens rea provision.
Repeal delegated authority of
bureaucracies to create criminal
penalties without approval of a
legislative body.

Institute Procedural Safeguards to

Slow Growth in New Criminal Laws

Require approval of new offenses and

sentencing enhancements by the
legislative committees overseeing the
criminal justice system.

Require sunrise review of new proposals,

which is done for certain measures such
as those involving occupational licensing
in states like AZ and OR.

Sunset criminal laws

outside of the Penal Code.

Key Resources

Heritage Foundation
www.overcriminalized.com

ALEC (including model legislation)

www.alec.org

Pew Public Safety Performance Project

www.pewcenteronthestates.org

Council of State Governments

www.csgjusticecenter.org

Justice Fellowship
www.justicefellowship.org

TPPF & Right on Crime

www.texaspolicy.com,www.rightoncrime.com