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Criminal Justice Sentencing Reform

Criminal Justice Sentencing Reform. Chief Justice William Ray Price, Jr. Since the 1980’s, in Missouri and across the nation, we attempted to incarcerate our way out of crime and illegal drug use. The problem is, it didn’t work. We were tough on crime. Three strikes and your out.

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Criminal Justice Sentencing Reform

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  1. Criminal Justice SentencingReform Chief Justice William Ray Price, Jr.

  2. Since the 1980’s, in Missouri and across the nation, we attempted to incarcerate our way out of crime and illegal drug use.

  3. The problem is, it didn’t work. We were tough on crime. Three strikes and your out. Throw away the key. The war on drugs But, we were not smart on crime.

  4. Let’s look at the numbers. United States

  5. Our Criminal Sentencing Problem Total Correctional PopulationTotal Pop. Behind Bars 1982 2,194,000 1982 612,000 2008 7,308,200 2008 2,304,000

  6. Cost of Increased Incarceration • State correctional spending increased fourfold: 1988 $11.7 billion 2008 $47.3 billion

  7. “What we are seeing today is a growing recognition that our approach to dealing with convicted criminals is simply too costly. Not only is the price too high, but the benefits are too low. The states spend an estimated $50 billion on corrections annually, and the growth of these outlays over the past 20 years has outpace nearly all other essential government services.” Joan Petersilia, Stanford Law School

  8. Incarceration and Crime Rates

  9. U.S. Crime Volume 1982-2008 • Violent Offenses 1982 1,322,390 2008 1,382,012 • Property Offenses 1982 11,652,000 2008 9,768,000 • Drug Offenses 1982 676,000 2007 1,841,200

  10. Drug Arrests 1980 580,900 2007 1,841,200 As Percentage of All Arrests 1980 5.5% 2006 13.14% Prison Population 1982 612,000 2008 2,304,000 ↓ 1,692,000 more people behind bars The War on Drugs

  11. The key measurement of the failure of our incarceration strategy is the recidivism rate. • Too many people, keep coming back.

  12. U.S. Recidivism Rates For all offenders (released 1994): • Rearrest within 3 years: 67.5% • Reconviction within 3 years: 46.9% For drug offenders (released 1983 vs. released 1994): • Rearrest rate increased 50.4%  66.7% • Reconviction rate increased 35.3%  47%

  13. Missouri Numbers

  14. Missouri Correctional Population 1982 1994 2009 Total DOC Population 27,376 58,266 103,432 Incarcerated5,95315,40230,476 -- Violent 2,996 8,124 16,311 -- Nonviolent 2,957 7,278 14,148 From 1982 to 2009: 412% increase in incarcerated offenders 379% increase in nonviolent offenders

  15. Missouri Costs Total DOC Budget • 1982 $55 million • 1985 $87 million • 1994 $219.9 million • 2005 $500.1 million • 2010 $665 million

  16. Missouri Costs At a cost of $16,432 per prisoner, Missouri is spending $233 million per year to incarcerate nonviolent offenders.

  17. Missouri Recidivism • Percent of Nonviolent Offenders Reincarcerated within: • 2 years 44.6% • 3 years 52.0% • 5 years 58.5%

  18. Increase in MO Drug Sentences New Felony Sentences Per Year • 1985 9,467 • 2008 27,431 • Drug Sentences • 1985 1,409 • 2008 9,134  548% increase • Non-Drug Sentences • 1985 8,058 • 2008 18,297  127% increase

  19. Drug Users Fill Missouri’s Prisons Missouri New Prison Admissions (FY2004) • 1,239 13% Drug Convictions • 2,037 20% Probation for Drug Offense Revoked • 4,042 41% Other Crimes But Active ____ Substance Abuse 74% of all new admissions are related to illegal drug use

  20. Good News about Drug Courts Numerous studies show that: • Drug court participation results in lower recidivism rates • Drug courts result in substantial cost savings

  21. Missouri Drug Courts Cost Substantially Less Than Incarceration Costs (per inmate per year) Incarceration $16,832 Drug Court $3,000 - 5,000

  22. Drug Courts Provide Savings Over Probation Case Study: St. Louis City Adult Felony Drug Court • Initial cost = cost of probation + cost of treatment • In two years: $2,615 net savings • In four years: $7,707 net savings For every $1 spent  $6.32 of savings

  23. MO Recidivism Comparison Recidivism Rates (rearrest within two years) • Prison 41.6% • Drug Court Graduates 10% (New JIS Tracking: 18-month Graduates 4.6% 18-month Terminations 15.2%)

  24. A real life example of recidivism was the 35 year old St. Joseph man arrested for drunk driving June 16, 2010, just three hours after he was released from prison.

  25. Missouri Drug Courts • 128 treatment courts: 85 adult felony, 16 juvenile, 13 family,12 DWI, 1 veteran, 3 reintegration courts. • 3059 participants • Nearly 10,000 graduates • 492 drug free babies

  26. Adult Felony Drug Court • DWI Court • Family Drug Court • Veterans’ Court • Mental Health Court • Reintegration Court • All combine evidence based treatment with intense supervision

  27. “I believe we can take an approach that is both tough and smart…[T]here are thousands of nonviolent offenders in the system whose future we cannot ignore. Let’s focus more resources on rehabilitating those offenders so we can ultimately spend less money locking them up again.” Gov. Rick Perry, Texas

  28. The Bottom line • The quality of justice is not measured by the length of sentence. • One size, one strategy, does not fit all offenders. • Breaking the cycle of addiction and crime requires scientific evidence based treatment and the development of job skills and intense supervision, not always prison walls. • Results matter. Cost matters. For a safer Missouri

  29. Another Interesting Problem

  30. Disparity in MO Incarceration Incarceration Percentage = Prison Sentences as a % of All Dispositions Circuit Court Incarceration % (2009) Rank__ 18th(Cooper, Pettis) 48.7% 1 5th(Andrew, Buchanan) 45.8% 2 13th(Boone, Callaway) 43.1% 3 --- Statewide Average = 25.6% --- 9th(Chariton, Linn, 15.2% 43 Sullivan) 28th(Barton, Cedar, Dade, 15.0% 44 Vernon) 2nd(Adair, Knox, Lewis) 10.8% 45

  31. Disparity in MO Sentence Length Circuit Court Avg. Prison Sentence (2009) Rank 22nd(St. Louis City)9.0 years1 16th(Jackson)7.7 years2 14th(Howard, Randolph)7.3 years3 --- Statewide Average = 6.6 years --- 39th(Barry, Lawrence, Stone) 4.5 years 43 37th(Carter, Howell, Oregon, 4.5 years 44 Shannon) 30th(Benton, Dallas, Hickory, 4.5 years 45 Polk, Webster)

  32. High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Crime Rate = ratio of crimes per 100,000 population Circuit County Incarc. % Rank Crime Rate 18th Cooper 48.7% 1 3038 Pettis 4850 5th Andrew 45.8% 2 1460 Buchanan 5555 13th Boone 43.1% 3 3855 Callaway 3293 * * * 28th Barton 15.0% 44 1997 Cedar 2559 Dade 1009 Vernon 5020 2nd Adair 10.8% 45 3321 Knox 4281 Lewis 1794

  33. High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Mixed Urban/Rural Counties Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % 2001 2005 2009 Jasper (117,708) 41 - 41.8% 5468 6172 5400 Buchanan (83,219) 41.2 - 45.8% 5489 5793 5555 Cape Girard. (71,763) 27.8 - 32.9% 4984 4260 4420 Boone (151,013) 43.1 - 46.4% 4100 3656 3854 Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

  34. High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Rural Counties Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % 2001 2005 2009 Marion (27,934) 28.6 - 30.4% 4890 5371 5542 Pettis (39,234) 48.7 - 50.7% 5157 5318 4850 Butler (40,456) 27.8 - 29.9% 3181 4877 4721 Callaway (41,158) 43.1 - 46.4% 2224 3285 3292 Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

  35. High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Large Urban Areas Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % 2001 2005 2009 St. Louis City (350,298) 23 - 23.8% 15324 13744 10629 Jackson (804.066) 20.9 - 22% 8710 7534 6160 St. Louis (928,117) 20.3 - 23.6% 3798 3432 3632 Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

  36. High Incarceration Rate ≠ Lower Crime Rate Small Rural Counties Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % 2001 2005 2009 Douglas (13,377) 21.3 – 33.0% 734 2436 1846 Macon (13,645) 16.2 - 18.6% 2246 1929 1922 Wayne (12,294) 18.2 - 18.5% 2708 1358 1334 Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

  37. Missouri Population1980-2010 1980 4,916,686 1990 5,117,073 (4.8% change) 2000 5,595,211 (9.3% change) 2009 (estimate) 5,987,580 (7.0% change)

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