For some decades now, the view has been growing that the United States puts too many of its people in prison. The incarceration rate long has been much higher than other advanced nations, as the U.S. held to the centuries-old mainstays of deterrence and confinement to keep order and encourage people to follow the law.
Better understanding and analysis of criminal justice outcomes showed that more imprisonment didn’t improve law and order. It did, however, increase the number of hardened criminals.
Then awareness grew of the damage done to the punished — much of it unnecessary — and the economic costs to governments, taxpayers and even the economy of such a vast prison system.
The era of U.S. justice reform had begun.
Across America, governments have tried to balance compassion for those charged with less serious crimes (especially when substance-abuse and mental-health issues are present) and firmness for ensuring appropriate consequences for serious, often violent crime.
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Several major cities so far have bungled this mutual pursuit of unlike goals, leading to increases in crime and reductions in quality of life. Even media outlets sympathetic to criminal justice reform in cities can’t help repeatedly reporting on Chicago’s rampant killings and shootings. In Philadelphia and New York, city officials deciding to limit prosecutions are often referenced in stories about diminished safety and security on their streets. Even the apologetic reports from California journalists, as progressive as they come, make apparent that Los Angeles has lost control of many of its streets and San Francisco is to be avoided or fled.
This is unfortunate, because the need for justice reform is compelling and the benefits if it’s done right are substantial. To see how to do it right, why not look at where it’s succeeding instead of failing?
Last week Atlantic County released numbers showing the continued achievement of the primary goals of criminal justice reform — balancing effective compassion and firm enforcement by targeting them to where they are needed.
Under New Jersey’s excellent first in the nation bail reform, people arrested and charged are either released on a summons to appear in court or held on a warrant for a detention hearing with a Superior Court judge. The decision is made by the police department involved and the county prosecutor’s office.
In Atlantic County, three-quarters of the defendants are being released on a summons — the highest rate in the state — making no jail time possible for them. Admirable efforts we’ve often praised are diverting some to the addiction and mental-health treatments they need.
That’s a lot of actual compassion.
Only a quarter are being held on warrants for possible detention, and it seems to be the right quarter, the most dangerous criminals. County Prosecutor William Reynolds said only defendants in the most serious crimes are being held on warrants and “we have been successful in detaining them.”
Half the time, Superior Court judges agree that the defendant should be detained. That too is the highest rate in the state — more than twice the statewide average for detention orders of 18%. Holding defendants that judges determine are a threat to public safety has more than doubled the county jail population to 800 in the year since Reynolds became prosecutor, with trials pending for more than 490 of the inmates. In that time, the prosecutor’s office has won 14 straight jury convictions.
That’s a lot of actual firm enforcement of the law to keep the public safe.
New Jersey’s bail reform leadership has steered the justice system toward first looking to see if someone charged with a crime could and would be helped to return to a law-abiding life. For the small percentage who can’t or won’t, punishing their crime and preventing another are still needed.
That makes balanced, targeted justice possible. Achieving it, as many cities are finding out, takes an entire justice system — including judges, prosecutors, police, attorneys and juries — with the dedication, professionalism and understanding needed to pursue the best outcomes for individuals and society.
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