The Decline of the Prison Population (Letters to the Editor--New York Times--August 3, 2013)

The news that the prison population in the United States decreased by 1.7 percent in the last year is certainly heartening (news article, July 26), but policy makers and everyday Americans should be aware that it’s possible to achieve even greater incarceration declines without jeopardizing public safety.

Since 2001, New York City’s incarceration rate has plummeted by 32 percent even as the major felony crime rate declined at the same rate. Put simply, the city has proved that you don’t need to lock up more people to achieve safer streets; in fact, with the right set of policies in place, the opposite is true.

How can other jurisdictions achieve similar results? There’s no single solution; it comes down to relying less on incarceration and more on carrying out a data-driven network of programs and policies, including proactive policing, early interventions and community-based programs focused on providing people with the tools and opportunities they need to break the cycle of crime.

LINDA I. GIBBS
VINCENT N. SCHIRALDI
New York, July 29, 2013

The writers are, respectively, deputy mayor for health and human services and commissioner of the Department of Probation.

To the Editor:

You quote a criminologist as saying, “This is the beginning of the end of mass incarceration.” In fact, it’s premature to celebrate. The United States remains the world’s largest jailer, with 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its prisoners. Without a national shift away from “tough on crime” policies, it will maintain that title.

While the positive results of a few state reforms are heartening, the data do not reflect a systemic movement to decrease unnecessary incarceration permanently. Just three states — California, Texas and North Carolina — accounted for 84 percent of the 2 percent decline in the national prison population, while federal prison populations continued to grow.

Policy makers nationwide should institute proven, effective reforms — reclassifying petty offenses, reducing harsh sentences and using incarceration as a last resort — to create a meaningful and permanent change to criminal justice policy and end the country’s overreliance on prisons.

INIMAI CHETTIAR
New York, July 30, 2013

The writer is director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, New York University School of Law.

To the Editor:

New York has achieved historic low crime rates while reducing arrests and correction populations. Sentence reform, coupled with smart investments in community-based programs, have made our communities safer and saved taxpayers millions in prison costs. But more needs to be done in New York and across the country if we hope to continue this trend.

Legislation must be enacted giving judges and prosecutors more opportunities to send appropriate defendants to community-based programs instead of prison. Since not everyone is eligible for these programs, it is imperative that we expand prison-based programs that prepare inmates who are returning home.

Finally, community-based and re-entry programs, like those run by the Fortune Society, must be treated as equal partners in the effort to increase public safety. Access to drug treatment, job training and education is often the difference between success and failure for former offenders.

STANLEY RICHARDS
Senior Vice President of Programs
The Fortune Society
Long Island City, Queens, July 29, 2013

To the Editor:

Your article identifies a positive trend, but the United States still has too many prisoners. If more productive spending is truly a priority for Congress, it should restore Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students.

In 1994, Congress banned Pell Grants for people in prison. As a result, by 1997, the number of college programs in prisons had dropped to 8 from 350.

The benefits of these grants for the incarcerated remain indisputable. Studies show that when prisoners attend college, they don’t commit new crimes or return to prison. Thus, public safety is increased, spending is decreased, and, more important, the lives of people and families are transformed.

DALLAS PELL
New York, July 26, 2013

The writer, a daughter of the late Senator Claiborne Pell, the former Rhode Island Democrat and sponsor of the Pell Grant, is a member of the Education From the Inside Out Coalition.