Crime: Conservative Principles and Prison

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With nearly every state budget strained by the economic crisis, it is critical that conservatives begin to stand up for criminal-justice policies that ensure the public's safety in a cost-effective manner.

Today, 2.3 million people sit in U.S. prisons — nearly one in every 100 adult Americans. America has the highest known incarceration rate in the world. Many of the incarcerated are guilty of non-violent crimes and afflicted with drug or mental-health problems, for which they receive little treatment, even when full rehabilitation is possible.

Consider Texas, a state legendary for being tough on crime. When the Lone Star State's incarceration rates were cut by 8 percent, the crime rate actually dropped by 6 percent. Texas did not simply release the prisoners, however. Instead, it placed them under community supervision, in drug courts, and in short-term intermediate sanctions and treatment facilities. Moreover, it linked the funding of the supervision programs to their ability to reduce the number of probationers who returned to prison. These strategies saved Texas $2 billion on prison construction. Does this mean Texas has gotten soft on crime? Certainly not. The Texas crime rate has actually dropped to its lowest level since 1973.

For more, see Conservative Principles and Prison by Grover Norquist, February 10, 2011 at National Review Online.