OREGON A LEADER IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY
January 24, 2012
By: Doug Harcleroad
Senior Policy Advisor
ACLU ANALYZES PUBLIC SAFETY REFORMS
I just finished reading a 60-page report by the American Civil Liberties Union, dated August 2011, and titled, "Smart Reform is Possible." The premise is that states can reduce incarceration rates and costs while protecting communities.
The report carefully analyzes the bipartisan criminal justice reforms that have taken place in Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio. It then goes on to analyze reform efforts in process in four states: namely, California, Louisiana, Maryland, and Indiana. As I finished reading the detailed analysis, four observations stood out to me.
- Oregon has already done most of the described "successful" reforms.
- None of these successful reforms involved shortening sentences for violent offenders.
- The enacted reforms save money by managing drug and non-violent offenders in the community or letting them out of prison on parole.
- There appears to be no rigorous cost-benefit evaluation of these reforms.
Fortunately, these cost-benefit evaluations are becoming more common following the lead of the Washington Institute for Public Policy. The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission economist, Michael Wilson, has updated and further developed this analysis capability for Oregon.
