Congress is considering massive changes in America’s criminal justice system aimed at reducing prison populations and reducing serious crimes.
The proposed legislation is called the Public Safety and Prison Reduction Act. It “would let Congress help states break the cycle of excessive imprisonment and its devastating impact on families and communities,” according to an op-ed by Hernandez Stroud and Lauren-Brooke Eisen in The Hill.
The legislation was proposed by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law, where the authors work. It calls for spending $1 billion in federal funds to encourage reducing prison population and reducing crime.
Bipartisan legislation is not common but recent criminal justice reform such as the First Step Act, which passed during the Trump Administration, shows it can be done, stated the authors.
If the top 25 states with the largest prison populations reduced the number of people they incarcerate by 20%, it would mean almost 179,000 less people confined in state prisons, said the article.
The authors cite research showing that almost 40% of people doing time in state and federal prisons do not pose a threat to public safety. Additionally, 12% of this population are 55 years old or older and have a very low risk factor to public safety. Many diversion options, such as ankle monitors or house arrest, can safely reduce prison populations, argued the authors.
The legislation stipulates that if a state reduces its prison population by 20% after three years, then it would be eligible to receive further funding under the law.
The bill could help to fight recidivism by funding more programs within prisons and by providing more help to integrate those being released back into society.
The 1994 Crime Bill authorized $12.5 billion to add more prison beds on the condition that states adopt an excessively harsh sentencing regime, which needs to be changed, the authors stated.
“Congress can send a powerful message to the nation that some issues are bigger then partisan politics, like delivering public safety while promoting a more fair and humane justice system,” Stroud and Eisen wrote.
