One of the sad legacies of Ronald Reagan that Obama should reset with a new, smarter approach are so-called “tough on crime” policies that brought us mandatory sentencing, three-strikes, and a complete abandonment of rehabilitation. Now, America leads the world as the number one incarcerator of human beings. Most of those incarcerated are black and Latino men, and most of the crimes are for non-violent offenses such as drug possession, petty theft and burglaries associated with substance abuse and addiction.
Despite these lengthier sentences, most of these offenders are eventually released, and they are released without any effort to address the root causes that motivated them to commit the crimes for which they were incarcerated. After release, these ex-offenders become victims of employment discrimination and are unable to find work (70-90%) because of prejudice against them. Only five states currently have laws on the books that prohibit employment discrimination against ex-offenders- Hawaii, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. As a consequence, over 70% recommit crimes within three years of being released from prison. In stark contrast to this result, in most European countries, over 70% of ex-offenders “never” commit another crime in their lifetime.
This must change!
If America really is concerned about “victims’ rights”, how can we encourage a result where ex-offenders are compelled to commit crimes to feed, clothe, and house themselves? For every new crime committed, there is a new victim, and there doesn’t appear to be much thought at all about lessoning the prospect of these new victims of crime.
Vengeance for vengeance sake, has no place in an advanced democratic country. Such vengeance merely creates a cycle of more, and more crime in which no one benefits. It costs us $37,000 a year to incarcerate each inmate, and most of this money is at the expense of other priorities like K-12 education. At 2.3 million inmates currently incarcerated in the US, that is $85 billion dollars “a year” for incarceration.
All major religions seem to understand the lunacy of this through spiritual principles of forgiveness and human redemption. Jesus was fond of helping outcasts such as lepers, prostitutes, and robbers on the cross. This social gospel of Jesus seems to have been lost in much of modern day Christianity that has been redefined by “judgment” as though we have evolved and become someone elses God.
Obama must reset this “tough on crime” legacy of Reagan with a new “smart on crime” policy. This smart on crime approach must not abandon punishment - as there should be some punishment for lawbreaking - but this punishment MUST be limited to the term of the sentence, and not be “punishment for life” as some sort of perpetual vengeance against those who commit crimes. A smarter approach must include state-of-the-art rehabilitation efforts while one is still in prison. This rehabilitation must continue upon release with supportive services for substance abuse and anger management.
It is also simply smarter to involve employers in rehabilitation efforts by providing a mix of carrots and sticks to hire ex-offenders. The carrots could be tax incentives for hiring “and” retaining ex-offenders. The sticks could be laws similar to the ones in the five states that currently prohibit employment discrimination against ex-offenders. These anti-discrimination efforts force employers to relate hiring decisions to the actual work performed, so if the crime is not rationally related to such work, discrimination is forbidden. Additional measures such as prohibiting criminal history questions on employment applications until a later stage in the hiring process where an applicant is deemed “otherwise qualified” would discourage screening out ex-offenders.
Without this smarter approach, we are simply encouraging more crime, more victims, and more extraordinary fiscal irresponsibility in paying for the incarceration of those who could be tax-paying productive members of American society. As we attempt to pay for healthcare, education and other priorities, the time is now for “smart on crime” policies.
