Governor of the State of Connecticut, Daniel Malloy, has engaged in one of the most progressive criminal justice reform experiments in the nation, and it seems to be working. Crime is now at a 48 year low, and it is falling faster than anywhere else in the country. This is at the same time that the crime rate is relatively unchanged across in most of the rest of the nation. Connecticut's prison population has also drastically dropped from 20,000 in 2008 to 15,600. What's their key to success? It's a belief in mercy in second chances.
Last February, Mr. Malloy announced his "Second Chance Society," which aims to reduce the number of people heading into prison and to make it easier for those who are getting out to live a law abiding life. He has instituted a new job training program for prisoners that are about to be released. He has also repealed the death penalty, legalized medical marijuana, reduced drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, done away with mandatory minimum sentences, passed very strict gun control laws, and increased police accountability with body cameras, more minority recruitment, and used independent investigators in police deadly force incidents. Furthermore, Malloy has proposed raising the adult age of criminal culpability to 21 from 18 after viewing research on brain development. Anyone under 21 would be tried in Juvenile Court instead of normal adult court.
As a former police officer and political conservative, this flies in the face of everything I've ever been taught about criminal justice policy. "Getting tough on crime," has been part of the mantra of this nation for so long that most of us came to accept it as the only logical way to deal with crime, but could that be wrong? Is it possible that being merciful is more successful in many cases? Maybe only a certain element of criminal behavior needs to be dealt with so harshly, while the rest needs more of rehabilitative effort. This experiment is new, so long term success has yet to be determined, but it is hard to argue with the short term results of Mr. Malloy's experiment. It is also important to note that the causes of crime are quite complex, so it can be dangerous to assume a cause and effect relationship with the Governor's policies and the reduction in crime, but it bears watching. You can read an article about this by following this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/04/opinion/connecticuts-second-chance-society.html?_r=1.
-Rich
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