Page 349 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

Justice Reinvestment policy mentioned earlier where a community that sends fewer individuals to

prison receives a three part economic benefit.

There are problems with mandatory sentencing that arrived in the 90’s war on drugs.

Judges are deprived of their role in making a decision based on each particular case. There are

personal factors that could be considered if we did not have mandatory sentencing. This would

focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Treatment plans for drug users should be used.

There was a case of a person who had a felony from 15 years past, had been clean since prison,

but had a gun – not used in crime but just possession and was sent back to prison. Truth in

Sentencing is another thing that needs to change. Paroles are no longer being used. People cannot

earn back time for education, job training and treatment so there is no incentive to heal trauma.

“If I get better I will get out sooner”. There is the TAD program Treatment Alternative and

Diversion (?) We need these treatment and training centers more than prisons. Criminal behavior

costs us more than treatment.

In 2005 that was TAP Treatment instead of Prison. It was shown that every $1 spent for

treatment saved $2 in prison costs

Incarceration is the wrong approach to what is really an economic problem. The reason it

has been used is because of fear of POC. Now we see not a war on drugs fueling this but a war on

immigration. The tell-tale sign is that when drugs of crack, cocaine earlier, and now opioids come

to the community of the People in Power the response is treatment not prison.

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