In an October 14 commentary in the Orlando Sentinel, Prison Fellowship vice president and director of Justice Fellowship Pat Nolan talks about the growing population in Florida prisons, and the problems that is causing. “Florida’s population has almost doubled since 1980, but the state’s prison population has grown even faster — five-fold during those years,” says Nolan. “Florida’s incarceration rate rose 26 percent faster than the national average, pushing spending on corrections past $2.8 billion.”
More reforms must be made to the criminal justice system in Florida. The state is the third-largest correctional system in the nation with 102,000 inmates, behind only California (174,000 inmates) and Texas (155,000 inmates). California and Texas offer a stark contrast in handling the growth and costs of their prisons.
Two inmates recently sued the state of California, claiming the overcrowded prisons in the state denied them basic medical care. Conditions in the prisons were horrific. Many prisons were at 200 percent of their intended capacity, with up to 54 prisoners sharing a single toilet. Prisoners were dying at a rate of one death every six to seven days.
In Brown v Plata, the United States Supreme Court found in favor of the plantiffs, requiring the state to drop its prison population by 33,000 inmates in three years.
Florida can avoid a situation like California if the state adopts reasonable reforms now, says Nolan. He suggests reforms such as those proposed by Right on Crime, a group of conservative leaders advocating for “smart on crime” policies. Similar policies were enacted in Texas, with success.
The Right on Crime initiative advances six key principles:
- The criminal justice system must be held accountable for its results;
- In determining criminal sentences, priority must be given to public safety, and the victim’s conception of justice, as well as the risk of future criminal conduct posed by each offender;
- The corrections system must require personal responsibility, work, restitution, community service and treatment;
- We must harness the power of families, charities, faith-based groups and communities to reform amenable offenders;
- Policies must provide incentives that align with the goals of public safety, victim compensation and satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness;
- Criminal law should be reserved for conduct that is blameworthy or threatens public safety.
Florida cannot afford a business-as-usual approach to prisons, says Nolan. In Texas, leaders got ahead of the game. The public is safer – and the budget smaller – because they did. He urges Florida legislators to take the lead in challenging the prison system, and making the passage of “smart on crime” policies a priority for the upcoming legislative session.