Resetting the Government
In June, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski released the report and recommendations of his Reset Cabinet. The Reset Cabinet came together in 2009 to look at four areas of state government – K-12 education, higher education, human services, and public safety - and determine changes that could enable the state to provide services in a climate of increasing demand and decreasing state revenue.
The Public Safety section of the reset report is important because it includes many recommendations PSJ believes could improve public safety and decrease criminal justice system costs.
The report recognizes that in an age of declining crime rates, the growth of the prison system has been driven by changes in the lengths of sentences rather than more crime. With limited resources, the report recommends that the focus of prison be to protect society from people who pose the greatest risk to the community. From that focus, the report suggests a number of changes:
- Create a modern, transparent sentencing guideline system
- Place construction of future prison beds on indefinite hold
- Extend earned time to more people by adopting federal standards and consider transition policies that incorporate halfway houses or electronic monitoring as a person nears his release date.
- Reform some mandatory minimum sentences
- Continue the suspension of Measure 57
These recommendations are definitely headed in the right direction. Right now, though, they are just recommendations in a report. In order for the recommendations to become real policy and law, they would need to become legislation and passed by the legislature. As we move toward the 2011 legislative session, we must keep these recommendations in front of legislators.
Read the full report from the Governor's Reset Cabinet.
Read the full Public Safety Committee report.
