Criminal Justice Reform – Lessons From The United States

Criminal justice reform first principles
• Criminal justice reform in the United States has slowed the rate of growth of incarceration, reduced recidivism, and saving money.
• The reform agenda has had bipartisan input and support, with reforms being implemented in many cases with Republican leadership.
• The principles of successful criminal justice reform:
» Community safety is paramount, and can be increased by reducing recidivism and unnecessary incarceration
» The criminal justice system should be subject to fiscal oversight, and the system can be rationalised towards community safety by redirecting money from incarceration to increased community supervision and policing
» Reform is consistent with traditional moral principles like personal responsibility, redemption, and just punishment.

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