Re: Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison - Washington Post

The United States leads the world, but we are not boasting. We are the front-runner in both the number and percentage of residents in incarceration, according to the Washington Post (Feb. 29, 2008). Although altering decades of shortsighted policies will take time, public officials are finally beginning to question their “lock ’em up” mentality and find less costly ways to deal with people charged with crimes. Any city, county, or state can take the following steps almost immediately to reduce the growing swell of incarcerated people without endangering public safety:

  1. Provide drug treatment upon request to individuals with addictions and not wait for the behavior to place them in the criminal justice system.

2. Screen people charged with crimes for mental health problems and divert those in need of treatment to community treatment programs.

3. Make community supervision and supportive services such as transitional jobs, education, and counseling available to those charged with less serious, nonviolent crimes.

4. Classify possession of controlled substances in small amounts as a civil rather than criminal matter.

By adopting these alternative policies to imprisonment, we can move closer to being smart on crime—not soft, not tough, but smart. For more information, contact Margaret Stapleton at mstapleton@povertylaw.org or 312.368.3327.