By Sammy Shults
Crime rates in Colorado have been soaring. Politically, both sides of the aisle have tried to remedy the issue and both sides have failed. The reason for the failure is success requires following the science and leaving politics behind. The solutions are in two truths and a lie.
Truth # 1
The biggest deterrent to crime is the certainty of being caught and convicted. This is the evidence-based science from a US Department of Justice study. This is why “Defund the Police” programs have failed cities across the nation including cities in Colorado.
Colorado needs more police presence and more crime prevention measures in communities in order to reduce crime. The problem is finite resources. There are not enough resources in the budgets to fully fund more well-trained, law enforcement officers and implement more crime prevention programs.
Truth # 2
There is no evidence that severe sentences discourage people from engaging in crime. Extreme sentences are very costly and incarcerate people who are rehabilitated and well past the age when most grow out of criminal behavior. This consumes vast resources which could be used more effectively at preventing and reducing new crimes.
Colorado has issued excessively long sentences for too long which has significantly contributed to the increased crime rates. The most effective sentence lengths have proven to be 3-5 years for non-violent offenses, and 10-15 years for violent crimes. Only a few violent crimes require lengthy incarceration to achieve optimal public safety.
The Lie
The Department of Corrections is effective in rehabilitation. That is the big lie with devastating impact. CDOC has become capable in housing inmates, nothing more. This failure is evident in the over 40% recidivism rate. Shouldn’t a Department with a nearly $1 billion budget achieve better results?
CDOC is proficient at assessing inmates on their risk to recidivate. These assessments classify offenders into 5 categories of risk; very low, low, medium, high, and very high. Then the failure begins. CDOC fails to use this information to properly place inmates in appropriate custody levels, Community Corrections programs, and Parole options.
The Department is no longer rehabilitating inmates. Due to the severe staff shortage (1,700 short statewide), rehabilitation programs have been either closed indefinitely or are open on a very limited basis. CDOC does not prioritize rehabilitation or mental health. Their priority is strictly housing and incarceration.
The Solutions
Correctly placing inmates saves thousands of dollars per inmate each year – funds that could be used for programming. Inmates improperly placed in higher (more expensive) custody levels consumes unnecessary resources. CDOC needs to place inmates based on custody classifications, not sentence length, and must make inmate rehabilitation the priority.
The General Assembly needs to pass legislation allowing qualified, lower-risk offenders to advance sooner to the next level of Community Corrections or Parole. This provides tens of millions of dollars for crime prevention and rehabilitation, and enhances public safety. Simple adjustments to Earned Time, Achievement Earned Time, and Eligibility dates for Community Corrections and Parole accomplish this.
Common sense, evidence-based solutions like these will fix Colorado’s Corrections problems. We need to expect more than mere incarceration (housing) from the Department of Corrections; especially when their mission is to rehabilitate inmates.
These solutions will make our communities safer and reduce preventable crime.