Leaders in field analyze proposed National Criminal Justice Commission

Being "tough on crime" might sound like a great campaign platform, but the consequences of it in actuality are real and reaching. Overcrowded prisons and increases in large correctional budgets have prompted many watchdog groups to ask for a governmental review of the criminal justice system. Congress has responded with a proposed National Criminal Justice Commission (NCJC). A new issue of The Prison Journal (published by SAGE) examines the key issues of the NCJC and offers recommendations from some key figures in criminal justice.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 7.3 million Americans are incarcerated or on parole or probation, which equals a 290 percent increase since 1980. This increase of activity also increases funding and has lead to diminished availability of funds for other government programs, such as education, public health, parks and recreation, and more.

To help explore and begin working on some solutions, co-editors of the special online edition Harry K. Wexler, Arthur J. Lurigio, and Pamela F. Rodriquez, enlisted the help of specialists in the field of criminal justice. Their intent is to help educate the NCJC and members of Congress, as well as all of those interested in reforming the criminal justice system.

The Prison Journal presents the best thinking of national experts on the issues of immediate concern to those working through research, policy, and practice to help make constructive changes to policy and practice surrounding the criminal justice system.

An introduction written by the co-editors is available free for a limited time at http://tpj.sagepub.com/content/91/3_suppl/1S.full.pdf+html.

The Prison Journal features the following additional articles:

"Bringing Down the U.S. Prison Population" by Alfred Blumstein
"Evidence-Based Policies and Practices for Drug-Involved Offenders" by Douglas B. Marlowe
"Prisons Do Not Reduce Recidivism: The High Cost of Ignoring Science" by Francis T. Cullen, Cheryl Lero Jonson, and Daniel S. Nagin
"People With Serious Mental Illness in the Criminal Justice System: Causes, Consequences, and Correctives" by Arthur J. Lurigio
"Addressing Racial Disparities in Incarceration" by Marc Mauer
"Life on the Outside: Returning Home after Incarceration" by Christy A. Visher and Jeremy Travis
"The Benefits and Costs of Early Prevention Compared With Imprisonment: Toward Evidence-Based Policy" by Brandon C. Welsh and David P. Farrington
"Strategies for Reducing Prison Populations" by Todd R. Clear and Dennis Schrantz

Provided by SAGE Publications