Opinion Editorial | |
| Thursday, September 10, 1998 | |
Cops Triumphing over CrooksPete du PontFormer Governor of Delaware, is Policy Chairman of the National Center for Policy Analysis |
Who's winning lately, the cops or the crooks? Fortunately, law enforcement
is, and that means we're all safer. The improvements in daily living are pretty obvious in our great cities,
and even in depressed neighborhoods, chaos, crime and open-air drug markets
are in retreat. Talk about improving the environment! Real jobs, coherent
family living, and civilization itself depend on a tolerable degree of protection
of life and property. And the thin blue line has been working lately. Nationally, the overall rate of serious crime is at a 25-year low. The
murder rate is lower than in the 1970s. In New York City, it is as low as
in the 1960s. The FBI's crime statistics show that every category of violent
crime has decreased since 1993. A major reason for the one-third crime slide during the 1990s is that
crime has become more expensive for adult perpetrators. The likelihood of
serving prison time for committing a serious violent crime or a burglary
has increased substantially. According to a new study from the National
Center for Policy Analysis:
Moreover, once in prison, criminals are staying there longer. The median
time served by those released recently has risen since 1993 for every category
of serious crime except aggravated assault. Are these trends related? Common sense says yes, even if most sociologists
continue to deny it. Criminals choose whether to commit specific crimes
or not, and they've decided on fewer crimes, a pretty rational response. Meanwhile, the prison and jail population has doubled since the mid-1980s
to 1.8 million. Nobody's really happy about this but at least the expense
has improved public safety. We now spend $120 billion a year on the justice
system, or, over $1,000 in taxes per household each year. If we're going
to further depress the crime rate, the justice system has to make crime
even less profitable by further increases in expected punishment. Unfortunately,
that means more prison beds. But a tough approach pays, especially over the long run. As the odds
worsen for criminals, crime declines and the same number of arrests and
convictions further raise the odds against criminals. Although the cost of building and maintaining more prisons is high, the
cost of not doing so appears to be higher. One study found that each additional
prisoner reduces the number of non-drug crimes by approximately 15 per year,
a social benefit of $53,000 annually, or more. Even at $25,000-$30,000 a
year, the taxpayers' cost of keeping the average criminal locked up is worthwhile. The annual cost of lock-ups can be reduced by more competition in their
supply. A handful of academic studies shows not only that private prisons
save taxpayers money but that they also provide superior performance in
almost every way, including lower recidivism among inmates released from
private facilities. A third option, yet untested, is to contract out to nonprofit groups,
including faith-based prison operators. As Professor Richard Moran of Holyoke
College says, "A private, not-for-profit foundation is in the best
position to organize a prison around a set of principles intended to reshape
criminals into honest, productive citizens." Despite our lack of a
"model" or successful prison, no jurisdiction or politician has
yet had the courage or good sense to try something new in jail suppliers,
despite the obvious successes non-governmental and faith-based hospitals,
schools and juvenile programs have had. Another cost saver would be to engage prisoners in productive work so
that they pay more of their own way, repay victims and support their own
families. Prisons today reek of idleness. The only way to get prisoners
off welfare on a mass basis is to recruit the private sector. Prison-run
work programs have been failures. Our aim should be to propel offenders
into, rather than away from, successful participation in the labor force. Bill McCollum (R, FL), chairman of the House Judiciary's crime committee,
says, "We can't overemphasize how important this is," and he recently
introduced H.R. 4100, the so-called Free Market Prison Industries Reform
Act of 1998, to make it easier to hire prisoners. It would repeal the federal
law which bans interstate commerce in prison-made goods and switch the Federal
Prison Industries from its socialist format to private production for the
open market. Its passage would be a wonderful step toward rationality in
our prison policies. # # # # # The National Center for Policy Analysis is a public policy
research institute founded in 1983 and internationally known for its studies
on public policy issues. The NCPA is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with
an office in Washington, D.C. For more information: Jil Hicks, Dallas, TX 972/386-6272 Home | Support Us | All Issues | Social Security Debate Central | Contact Us |