Criminal Justice Sentencing Reform Chief Justice William Ray Price, Jr.

  Since the 1980’s, in Missouri and across the nation, we attempted to incarcerate our way out of crime and illegal drug use.

  The problem is, it didn’t work.   We were tough on crime.   Three strikes and your out.   Throw away the key.   The war on drugs   But, we were not smart on crime.

  Let’s look at the numbers. United States

Our Criminal Sentencing Problem Total Correctional Population Total Pop. Behind Bars 19822,194, , ,308, ,304,000

Cost of Increased Incarceration  State correctional spending increased fourfold: 1988$11.7 billion 2008$47.3 billion

  “What we are seeing today is a growing recognition that our approach to dealing with convicted criminals is simply too costly. Not only is the price too high, but the benefits are too low. The states spend an estimated $50 billion on corrections annually, and the growth of these outlays over the past 20 years has outpace nearly all other essential government services.” Joan Petersilia, Stanford Law School

Incarceration and Crime Rates

U.S. Crime Volume  Violent Offenses 19821,322, ,382,012  Property Offenses ,652, ,768,000  Drug Offenses , ,841,200

The War on Drugs  Drug Arrests  ,900  20071,841,200  As Percentage of All Arrests  %  %  Prison Population  ,000  20082,304,000 ↓ 1,692,000 more people behind bars

  The key measurement of the failure of our incarceration strategy is the recidivism rate.   Too many people, keep coming back.

U.S. Recidivism Rates For all offenders (released 1994) :  Rearrest within 3 years: 67.5%  Reconviction within 3 years: 46.9% For drug offenders (released 1983 vs. released 1994) :  Rearrest rate increased 50.4%  66.7%  Reconviction rate increased 35.3%  47%

  Missouri Numbers

Missouri Correctional Population Total DOC Population27,37658, ,432 Incarcerated 5,95315,402 30, Violent2,9968,124 16, Nonviolent2,9577,278 14,148 From 1982 to 2009: 412% increase in incarcerated offenders 379% increase in nonviolent offenders

Missouri Costs Total DOC Budget  1982$55 million  1985$87 million  1994$219.9 million  2005$500.1 million  2010$665 million

Missouri Costs At a cost of $16,432 per prisoner, Missouri is spending $233 million per year to incarcerate nonviolent offenders.

Missouri Recidivism   Percent of Nonviolent Offenders Reincarcerated within:   2 years44.6%   3 years52.0%   5 years 58.5%

Increase in MO Drug Sentences New Felony Sentences Per Year  19859,467  ,431  Drug Sentences  19851,409  20089,134  548% increase  Non-Drug Sentences  19858,058  ,297  127% increase

Drug Users Fill Missouri’s Prisons Missouri New Prison Admissions (FY2004)  1,23913% Drug Convictions  2,03720% Probation for Drug Offense Revoked  4,04241% Other Crimes But Active ____Substance Abuse 74% of all new admissions are related to illegal drug use 74% of all new admissions are related to illegal drug use

Good News about Drug Courts Numerous studies show that:  Drug court participation results in lower recidivism rates  Drug courts result in substantial cost savings

Missouri Drug Courts Cost Substantially Less Than Incarceration Costs (per inmate per year) Incarceration$16,832 Drug Court $3, ,000

Drug Courts Provide Savings Over Probation Case Study: St. Louis City Adult Felony Drug Court  Initial cost = cost of probation + cost of treatment  In two years:$2,615 net savings  In four years:$7,707 net savings For every $1 spent  $6.32 of savings

MO Recidivism Comparison Recidivism Rates (rearrest within two years)  Prison41.6%  Drug Court Graduates10% (New JIS Tracking:18-month Graduates4.6% 18-month Terminations15.2%)

  A real life example of recidivism was the 35 year old St. Joseph man arrested for drunk driving June 16, 2010, just three hours after he was released from prison.

Missouri Drug Courts   128 treatment courts: 85 adult felony, 16 juvenile, 13 family,12 DWI, 1 veteran, 3 reintegration courts.   3059 participants   Nearly 10,000 graduates   492 drug free babies

  Adult Felony Drug Court   DWI Court   Family Drug Court   Veterans’ Court   Mental Health Court   Reintegration Court   All combine evidence based treatment with intense supervision

  “I believe we can take an approach that is both tough and smart…[T]here are thousands of nonviolent offenders in the system whose future we cannot ignore. Let’s focus more resources on rehabilitating those offenders so we can ultimately spend less money locking them up again.” Gov. Rick Perry, Texas

The Bottom line   The quality of justice is not measured by the length of sentence.   One size, one strategy, does not fit all offenders.   Breaking the cycle of addiction and crime requires scientific evidence based treatment and the development of job skills and intense supervision, not always prison walls.   Results matter. Cost matters. For a safer Missouri

  Another Interesting Problem

Disparity in MO Incarceration Incarceration Percentage = Prison Sentences as a % of All Dispositions Circuit Court Incarceration % (2009) Rank__ 18 th (Cooper, Pettis) 48.7% 1 18 th (Cooper, Pettis) 48.7% 1 5 th (Andrew, Buchanan) 45.8% 2 5 th (Andrew, Buchanan) 45.8% 2 13 th (Boone, Callaway) 43.1% 3 13 th (Boone, Callaway) 43.1% Statewide Average = 25.6% th (Chariton, Linn, 15.2% 43 9 th (Chariton, Linn, 15.2% 43 Sullivan) Sullivan) 28 th (Barton, Cedar, Dade, 15.0% th (Barton, Cedar, Dade, 15.0% 44 Vernon) Vernon) 2 nd (Adair, Knox, Lewis) 10.8% 45 2 nd (Adair, Knox, Lewis) 10.8% 45

Disparity in MO Sentence Length Circuit CourtAvg. Prison Sentence (2009) Rank 22 nd (St. Louis City) 9.0 years 1 22 nd (St. Louis City) 9.0 years 1 16 th (Jackson) 7.7 years 2 16 th (Jackson) 7.7 years 2 14 th (Howard, Randolph) 7.3 years 3 14 th (Howard, Randolph) 7.3 years Statewide Average = 6.6 years th (Barry, Lawrence, Stone) 4.5 years th (Barry, Lawrence, Stone) 4.5 years th (Carter, Howell, Oregon, 4.5 years th (Carter, Howell, Oregon, 4.5 years 44 Shannon) Shannon) 30 th (Benton, Dallas, Hickory, 4.5 years th (Benton, Dallas, Hickory, 4.5 years 45 Polk, Webster) Polk, Webster)

High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Crime Rate = ratio of crimes per 100,000 population Circuit CountyIncarc. %Rank Crime Rate 18 th Cooper48.7%13038 Pettis th Andrew45.8%21460 Buchanan th Boone43.1%33855 Callaway3293 * * * 28 th Barton15.0% Cedar2559 Dade1009 Vernon nd Adair10.8% Knox4281 Lewis1794

High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Mixed Urban/Rural Counties Crime Rate Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % Jasper (117,708) % Buchanan (83,219) % Cape Girard. (71,763) % Boone (151,013) % Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Rural Counties Crime Rate Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % Marion (27,934) % Pettis (39,234) % Butler (40,456) % Callaway (41,158) % Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

High Incarceration % ≠ Lower Crime Rate Large Urban Areas Crime Rate Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % St. Louis City (350,298) % Jackson ( ) % St. Louis (928,117) % Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

High Incarceration Rate ≠ Lower Crime Rate Small Rural Counties Crime Rate Crime Rate County (Population) Incarc. % Douglas (13,377) 21.3 – 33.0% Macon (13,645) % Wayne (12,294) % Statewide Average Incarceration Percentage = 25.6%

Missouri Population ,916, ,117,073 (4.8% change) 20005,595,211 (9.3% change) 2009 (estimate) 5,987,580 (7.0% change)