Thread: National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009

Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), along with fifteen co-sponsors, have introduced legislation in Congress to critically evaluate America’s drugs and prisons policies.

Senate Bill 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 seeks to establish a blue-ribbon commission to “undertake a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system; make findings related to current Federal and State criminal justice policies and practices; and make reform recommendations for the President, Congress, and State governments to improve public safety, cost-effectiveness, overall prison administration, and fairness in the implementation of the Nation’s criminal justice system.”

Specifically, the Commission will examine “current drug policy and its impact on incarceration, crime and violence, sentencing, and reentry programs, [including] an analysis of the general availability of drugs in our society, the impact and effectiveness of current policies on reducing that availability and on the incidence of crime, and in the case of criminal offenders, the availability of drug treatment programs before, during, and after incarceration.”


http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.714:

S.714
National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 (Introduced in Senate)

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds the following:

(1) The United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world, imprisoning a higher percentage of its population than any other country. The American incarceration rate is five times the world's average incarceration rate. A total of 2,380,000 people are in prison.

(2) Although criminal justice laws and legal procedures depend heavily on State and local law, and although a majority of those imprisoned in the United States are held in non-Federal institutions, the conditions under which Americans are incarcerated and the manner in which former inmates reenter society is a compelling national interest that potentially affects every American citizen and every locality in the country.

(3) The American public and their elected officials at all levels of government overwhelmingly support the punishment and incarceration of violent criminals, as well as those who direct and participate in criminal enterprises.

(4) Minorities make up a disproportionately large share of prison populations. Black males have a 32 percent chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives; Hispanic males have a 17 percent chance; white males have a 6 percent chance.

(5) The number of persons on probation and parole has been growing along with institutional populations. There are 7,300,000 Americans incarcerated or on probation or parole, equal to 1 in every 31 adults, an increase of 290 percent since 1980.

(6) The number of exoffenders returning to their communities from Federal and State prisons rose to 725,000 in 2007, an increase of 19.9 percent since 2000, and a more than doubling in the past 2 decades. On average, 2 out of every 3 released prisoners will be rearrested and 1 in 2 will return to prison within 3 years of release.

(7) Spending on corrections consumes an increasingly large portion of resources at all levels of government. Corrections expenditures compete with and diminish funding for education, public health, public safety, parks and recreation, and programs specifically designed to reduce the prison population. An analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that over the past 20 years, inflation-adjusted state spending on corrections rose 127 percent while higher education expenditures rose just 21 percent.

(8) The National Gang Threat Assessment reports that there are approximately 1,000,000 gang members in the United States. According to reporting by local law enforcement, gangs commit `as much as 80 percent of the crime in some locations'. Gangs are primary retail distributors of illicit drugs, some of which operate at the regional or national level. According to the 2008 National Drug Threat Survey, 58 percent of law enforcement agencies report gang involvement in drug distribution.

(9) The combination of gang activity and the movement of illegal drugs into the country has resulted in unprecedented levels of sophisticated, organized violence along America's southern border and in hundreds of American communities. More than 6,000 people died in Mexico in 2008 alone as a result of drug-related violence.

(10) Despite high incarceration rates for drug-related offenses, illicit drug availability remains consistent. 86 percent of high school students report that it is `very easy' or `fairly easy' to obtain marijuana. 47 percent report the same for cocaine, 39 percent for crack, and 27 percent for heroin.

(11) Those addicted to and abusive of illicit drugs are an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the drug using population, but account for an estimated half of all illicit drug consumption. Treating addiction will significantly help decrease demand.

(12) Drug offenders in prisons and jails have increased 1200 percent since 1980. Nearly a half million persons are in Federal or State prison or local jail for a drug offense, compared to an estimated 41,100 in 1980. A significant percentage of these offenders have no history of violence or high-level drug selling activity.

(13) Prisons and jails nationwide have become holding facilities for the mentally ill. There are an estimated 350,000 men and women in prisons and jails with serious mental disorders. Approximately 4 times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals. Prisoners are 2 to 4 times more likely than the general population to be schizophrenic, depressed, bipolar, or suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Approximately 73 percent of mentally ill inmates suffer from a substance abuse disorder.

(14) Prisons have become public health risks. The number of State prisoners with HIV is 2.5 times greater than the general population. The number of State prisoners with hepatitis C is 9 times that of the general population.

(15) Prison administration is uneven, lacking clear, affirmative standards of training and performance, varying greatly from institution to institution, locality to locality, and among Federal, State and local jurisdictions.

(16) According to a 2007 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey, an estimated 60,500 inmates (or 4.5 percent of all Federal and State inmates) experienced 1 or more incidents of sexual victimization involving other inmates or staff. Analyses suggest that official records of assault in prison (both physical and sexual) only reflect 10 to 20 percent of all assaults in prison.

What should we do kraker? Lock more people up and hire more cops?

or

EC. 6. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.

(a) Recommendations- After conducting a review of the United States criminal justice system and making findings as required by section 5, the Commission shall make recommendations for changes in policies and laws designed to--

(1) refocus incarceration policies to reduce the overall incarceration rate while preserving public safety, cost-effectiveness, and societal fairness;

(2) decrease prison violence, with particular reference to protecting those incarcerated from physical abuse;

(3) improve prison administration, including Federal standards of competence and the creation of a career path for prison administrators;

(4) institute the use of policies and practices proven effective throughout the spectrum of criminal behavior;

(5) establish a system for the reintegration of exoffenders that provides productive skills and opportunities and improves communities' ability to assimilate former offenders;

(6) restructure the approach to criminalization of, and incarceration as a result of the possession or use of illegal drugs, decreasing the demand for illicit drugs, and improving the treatment for addiction;

(7) improve and streamline the treatment of mental illness, both in our society and in the criminal justice system;

(8) improve Federal and local responses to international and domestic criminal activity and violence carried out by gangs, cartels, and syndicates, particularly in relation to drug smuggling and distribution; and

(9) improve and reform any other aspect of the United States criminal justice system the Commission determines is required.

(b) Coordination With International and Domestic Government and Nongovernment Representatives- The Commission shall--

(1) consult with government and nongovernmental leaders, including State and local law enforcement officials; and

(2) include in its final report required by subsection (c) summaries of the input and recommendations of these leaders based on the recommendations required by subsection (a).

(c) Report-

(1) REPORT- Not later than 18 months after the selection of the chair and the Executive Director of the Commission, the Commission shall prepare and submit a final report that contains a detailed statement of findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Commission to Congress and the President.

(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY- The report submitted under this subsection shall be made available to the public.

Originally Posted by asianator365

If they can do it while keeping convicted criminals off the streets and prevent them from committing crimes, I am all for it. However, given the past performance of judges and others in the judicial branch, I am not holding my breath.

Prime example: A few days ago, some guy tried to rob a local pizza place. He had previously be charged with possession of marijuana, but never showed up for court, and no one bothered to go get him. So he went to a pizza place with a shotgun, stuck it in the owner's face, took the money...and was promptly shot 7 times by the owner. Police assume he was robbing the store for more money to get marijuana. Had we actually bothered to throw him in prison the first time, it wouldn't have happened.

I wont argue your anecdotal evidence. He could have robbed that guy to pay off his bills too. I guess we shouldn't let people have cell phones, internet, or own a car or house.

And while we're on the subject of prosecuting pre-crime, I could argue that if they put him in jail the first time he could've met some bad people, become friends with bad people, and upon getting out robbed/killed someone. Maybe he wouldn't have met anyone, but being in jail for an extended period threw him out his job, made it harder for him to get a job upon leaving jail because of the felony on his record. Now we have a pot head without a job, who needs money and could resort to crime where a felony is a merit badge.

Plus the whole time I have to pay for his stay in jail, and support his broke-ass via welfare after he gets out and cant get a job because of the felony. All for marijuana charges? Please.