1. Issue area Primer for the National Foundation for Women Legislators
Overcriminalization
Issue area Primer for the National Foundation for Women Legislators
*Note: hyperlinks to reports and data can be opened by right clicking and selecting "open hyperlink"*

2. What is overcriminalization?
Overcriminalization is a broad term. In general, it refers to the spread of the criminal law and criminal penalties to a range of activities that are not intuitively criminal. Legislators have gotten into a habit of criminalizing any and all activity that their constituents don’t like, regardless of the overall impact on public safety. Simultaneously, criminal justice policies and practices have gotten increasingly punitive without concurrent increases in public safety.

3. Examples from Manhattan Institute Research
Michigan has created an average of 45 new crimes annually over the last 6 years
In North Carolina, among the crimes created in and 2010, fully 68% of them were never charged against someone in 2012
South Carolina has created an average of 60 new crimes a year over the last 6 years, and 86% of the new crimes fell outside the penal code

4. What are states doing?
Many states have undertaken commissions (see Ohio’s example) to review their criminal code and get rid of outdated or redundant laws
Over 30 states have participated in the Justice Reinvestment framework, and many of those subsequently reduced penalties for non violent crimes and created more alternatives to incarceration
A few states like Michigan and Ohio have passed mens rea, or intent standard requirements, that clearly define whether a person had to know they were committing a crime

5. Model Policies and Practices
What can you as a legislator consider to address overcriminalization in your state?
Criminal Code Review Commissions
Sunset Provisions included in new criminal laws
Increased access to alternatives to incarceration
Default Intent Standards—Mens Rea provisions