Memphis, TN – U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. has introduced a new initiative designed to reform the criminal justice system for the 21st century, announced U.S. Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.
“By targeting the most serious offenses, prosecuting the most dangerous criminals, directing assistance to crime ‘hot spots,’ and pursuing new ways to promote public safety, deterrence, efficiency, and fairness – we can become both smarter and tougher on crime,” said Attorney General Holder in remarks to the American Bar Association’s Annual Convention in San Francisco.
“Attorney General Holder’s ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative provides a measured approach to modernizing the criminal justice system and offers a sensible alternative to the one-size-fits-all policy proven to be flawed and ineffective,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office, court personnel, and our law enforcement partners in the Western District of Tennessee have already been working to implement many of the principles outlined in the initiative, such as launching re-entry and drug courts and using diversion as a resource when warranted for non-violent offenders.
The ‘Smart on Crime’ initiative is a series of directives to U.S. Attorney Offices across the nation designed to redirect efforts and assets toward more measured, individualized examinations of both the crime and the criminal. The five guiding principles of ‘Smart on Crime’ are:
I. PRIORITIZE PROSECUTIONS TO FOCUS ON THE MOST SERIOUS CASES.
Given scarce resources, federal law enforcement efforts should focus on the most serious cases that implicate clear, substantial federal interests. Currently, the Attorney General is, for the first time, requiring the development of district-specific guidelines for determining when federal prosecutions should be brought.
II. REFORM SENTENCING TO ELIMINATE UNFAIR DISPARITIES AND REDUCE OVERBURDENED PRISONS.
Prisons are over-capacity, and the rising cost of maintaining them imposes a heavy burden on taxpayers and communities. At the state level, costs for running corrections facilities have roughly tripled in the last three decades, making it the second-fastest rising expense after Medicaid. At the federal level, the Bureau of Prisons comprises one-third of the Justice Department’s budget.
III. PURSUE ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION FOR LOW-LEVEL, NON-VIOLENT CRIMES.
Incarceration is not the answer in every criminal case. Across the nation, no fewer than 17 states have shifted resources away from prison construction in favor of treatment and supervision as a better means of reducing recidivism.
Mandatory Facts: Defendant/Respondent: U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., Crime: Initiatives to Reform the Criminal Justice System, State: Tennessee, Year: 2011, Date: Not specified, Sentence/Outcome: No sentence specified, but the initiative aims to reform the criminal justice system.
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Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Crime & Justice Reform
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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