Crime down, costs up since prison realignment, study finds

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Crime-down-costs-up-since-prison-realignment-6536236.php

One can imagine the not too distant future when cries for more reform resume because of continued prison crowding.  It’s easy to imagine the charges that will be brought upon the state.  $81 million was not enough, or was directed at the “wrong” programs. More money must be spent to fix a “system that’s too expensive.”  Meanwhile California sinks deeper into financial ruin. 

The prescribed solutions to what ails the criminal justice system often do little or nothing to solve the problem.  That’s because offender advocates are considered criminal justice experts.  Experts provide policymakers with answers rather than help them ask the right question.  The answers are based on myths about the system, which have become established within the criminal justice reform movement.    

The criminal justice reform narrative is essentially anti-incarceration, and strives for less imprisonment without a systemic view or approach to the problem.  Reform advocates are essentially offender advocates that consider prisons and imprisonment cruel and harsh measures unfit for a democratic society except for the most violent offenders.  

The unintended consequences of this authoritative strategy ensure that reforms are constantly called for because the real problems are never solved.  This begs the question if in fact these consequences are actually unintended.  

From THE QUIET REVOLUTION Shattering The Myths About The American Criminal Justice System By Ed Barajas