Today is Human Rights Day, perhaps a good day to reflect on the fact that the United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world.  Fortunately, more and more conservatives are discovering what progressives (and by the way what juvenile justice advocates have known for along time), that investing in “get tough on crime” measures that over-emphasize incarceration as a solution is not a cost-effective approach to increasing community safety.  Whether it’s the Right on Crime movement growing out of Texas, or interest expressed here in Wisconsin in response to a recent article based on a report from WISDOM, what we know is that there are more effective ways to reduce reoffending than locking someone up in hopes that it will deter future criminal or delinquent behavior.

Should reform advocates welcome or have reason to be cautious about this epiphany of those who have been in the “get tough” camp?  Is there common ground that we can build on to invest in meaningful system reform?  Some of these questions are addressed in recent article by David Dagan and Steven M. Teles titled The Conservative War on Prisons. 

If conservatives are concerned about accountability in government, shouldn’t the effectiveness of prisons fall under that same microscope?
In a state like Wisconsin where funding for corrections surpasses funding for the university system, why not ask “is it working?”  Why not invest in proven alternatives that have been used elsewhere with no harmful impact on community safety? What can we learn from the juvenile system that has dramatically reduced the number of youth in institutions, yet juvenile arrests continue to go down? And, what about investing in young offenders – returning 17 year olds to the juvenile system and investing in better services for 18-24 year olds – investments that will save money in the long run?

Let’s hope there is an opportunity for meaningful bipartisan dialogue on these issues, moving from being tough on crime to being smart on crime – in our state and around the country as we work to end our over-reliance on locking people up as a solution to crime.                by Katey Collins and Jim Moeser