Criminal Justice reform in an Obama administration
The pundits are already giving opinions on how an Obama administration is going to change things. With all the campaign promises, you have to expect substantial changes, including changes in criminal justice. Although criminal justice issues received almost no attention during the campaign, the President-elect has identified several issues he would focus on. As usual, Professor Berman is on top of this, and has already starting posting on this. He has identified several issues that will probably be addresse in an Obama administration , which include:
- Disparities in the criminal justice system, which includes the significant disparity between sentences for crack cocaine and regular cocaine. It also include disparities in the frequency with which blacks and hispanics are stopped and searched, as compared to whites.
- Increasing ex-offender support to reduce recidivism.
- Increase the use of drug courts.
All those are good ideas, but they still have to get through Congres. Appearing to be soft on crime is never politically popular, as evidenced by the repeated rejection of attempts to reduce sentences for crack cocaine.
One thing he has not addressed is the tendency over the years to criminalize almost everything, and increase sentences across the board. The best way to be tough on crime is to advocate longer sentences. Common sense rarely prevails, especially when it comes to drugs.
The policies of the past have not worked - tougher sentences have not significantly reduced crime. instead of focusing on locking people up, we need to focus on preventing crime, and preventing those who are convicted from re-offending. The Federal Sentencing Commission has recognized this, and has started discussing alternatives to incarceration. That involves focusing on the cause of criminal behavior, including drug abuse. Drug courts have been a good start, and we need to expand that approach to other areas. We also need to provide more resources for treatment and rehabilitation; unfortunately, those programs have been the first to be cut when money is tight. Experience tells us that harsher penalties are not the answer, but it is still a politically popular one.
Will an Obama administration be different? Only time will tell.
