Issue Position: Criminal Justice

Issue Position

One of the most fundamental roles of government is to protect its citizens. And one of the most important ways for our State government to provide that protection and keep our community safe and orderly is to be both tough and smart on crime. This includes:

(1) incarcerating dangerous offenders;
(2) adequately rehabilitating those who have committed crimes so that they can become functioning members of society;
(3) respecting the due process and privacy rights of all citizens regardless of what crimes they or may not have committed;
(4) fulfilling all of these functions in a cost-effective manner.

There are many ways we can improve Delaware's criminal justice system. Most importantly, too many people are released from prison simply to commit crimes again and return to prison. This high rate of recidivism is a clear signal that our criminal justice system must do a better job of providing the kinds of rehabilitation methods that provide meaningful opportunities for Delawareans exiting prison. No one in our State is better off when so many people quickly return to prison rather than becoming contributing members of our community. For recidivism and other reasons, our criminal justice system is not as cost effective as it should be. We spend millions of dollars on capital punishment and prisoner housing that could be better spent on other initiatives, including stronger public education programs that will help to steer Delawareans in the direction of employment and away from the direction of crime. We also should have a candid conversation as a State about whether we want to continue to have a system in which the most low-level of drug usage is a reason many people first enter the criminal justice system. It is a better use our limited State funds to focus on efforts to target the more immediate and likely causes of violent crime, as well as to more severely incarcerate those people who have harmed others.

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