Start of big two-day House hearings on criminal justice reform

Though President Obama will capture most of the headlines with his emphasis on criminal justice reform in speeches and activities this week, Congress is where the reform action need to take place for there to be real, long-term hope and change.  Consequently, I will be keeping an eye on the the two days of hearings on criminal justice reform taking place before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. This morning's Part I of the hearings can be followed via this webpage, and here is how the hearings are set up there:

HEARING PURPOSE:

• To share lessons on criminal justice reform from states that have successfully implemented new policies. 
• To hear from a diverse panel of experts regarding emerging areas of reform at both the state and federal levels, including existing and forthcoming bills before the House and Senate.
• To broaden the conversation on criminal justice reform.

HEARING BACKGROUND:

• Prison populations have grown precipitously over the past thirty years:
• From 1940 to 1980: the population remained stable at about 24,000 federal prisoners.
• 1980-1989: it more than doubled to about 58,000 prisoners.
• 1990-1999: it more than doubled again to about 134,000 prisoners.
• 2000-2010: it increased by another 45 percent to about 210,000 prisoners.
• 2013: we now have more than 219,000 federal prisoners (nearly 40 percent above rated capacity).

 Spending on federal prisons has skyrocketed:

• From 1998 to 2012, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) budget increased from $3.1 to $6.6 billion–from 15 to 24 percent of the Department of Justice (DOJ) budget. 
• The 2013 budget request for the BOP totaled $6.9 billion, an increase of $278 million over the FY 2012 budget. 
• The BOP is now consuming 25 percent of the DOJ budget. 

Criminal justice reform efforts typically fall into one of three categories, each of which will be discussed in the hearings:

• “Front end” measures address how people end up in prison in the first place and the length of sentences they will receive.  Reform of mandatory minimums, for example, attempts to reduce prison populations and recidivism by allowing judges to impose shorter sentences on nonviolent offenders.
• “Behind the wall” reforms attempt to change the operations of the prisons themselves.
• “Back end” changes focus on the circumstances of release from prison, including serving portions of sentences in an alternative custody arrangement and rehabilitation programs.