Florida takes important step toward data-driven criminal justice policymaking

Data-driven criminal justice policy has found a solid foothold across the country over the past decade, but one of the most incarcerated states — Florida — has stayed firmly on the sidelines. Until now.

Championed by state Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) and state Eep. Chris Sprowls (R-Clearwater), SB 1392 requires courts, jails, prisons, state attorneys, public defenders and others to collect, record and share data and, most importantly, use it to drive policy decisions. Experts are calling it the “gold standard” in data collection, allowing for informed decision-making at all levels of government.

{mosads}With nearly 100,000 adults behind bars and an annual corrections tab topping $2.3 billion, Florida is making changes that will deliver better criminal justice at a lower cost. That’s good news for taxpayers, and it would ensure that the Sunshine State uses facts and reason — rather than anecdote and emotion — to guide its correctional approach.

Florida’s commitment to data-driven policy is blossoming just in time. Without changes to its outdated laws and practices, the state’s prison population, already the third-largest, will experience a new burst of growth beginning in 2021.

Aware of that grim forecast, the state legislature in 2016 began laying the foundation for reform by calling for an independent analysis of criminal justice data and trends. The resulting study, performed by the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI), found that despite reductions in the number of people sent to prison, the population has not declined.

How could that be? It’s pretty simple. Florida has one of the nation’s strictest sentencing codes and an expansive list of mandatory minimum offenses, along with enhancements that tack on additional time for repeat criminal behavior. On the back end, Florida’s limited release mechanisms — the state abolished parole in 1983 and requires all inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence — increase prison time beyond what is served in other states. These dynamics have led to steady increases in the length of sentences and inmates’ prison stays.

Last fall, Florida legislators asked CJI to take a deeper look at the system and come up with policy recommendations. A February report followed, proposing that Florida:

• Limit the use of mandatory minimum sentences and enhancements;
• Reserve the 85 percent sentence requirement for violent offenders;.
• Expand alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders, who account for nearly two-thirds of prison admissions; and
• Expand release options for geriatric inmates and those who are physically or cognitively incapable of posing a threat to society.

Most of the recommendations received a warm welcome from the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Sen. Brandes, the subcommittee chairman, predicted meaningful change would come next session.

Fortunately, Florida won’t be starting from scratch. More than three-dozen states, many of them led by Republican governors, have adopted comprehensive sentencing and correctional policy, and reduced both their imprisonment and crime rates.

Texas got things started in 2007. Facing a $2 billion bill to cope with more prison growth, the state instead invested in alternatives proven to reduce recidivism. Since then, recidivism is down 25 percent, Texas has closed four prisons, crime is at levels not seen since the 1960s and the state has saved $4 billion.

Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Utah also have enjoyed benefits from comprehensive criminal justice reform legislation, and last year Louisiana — long known as the nation’s most incarcerated state — joined the list.

Opinion polls show the public supports such changes, but the new policy approach does not merely reflect the swinging political pendulum on crime. Rather, it is anchored in research that was unavailable during the prison building boom. We know a lot more today about what drives criminal offending, and studies show that longer prison stays cost taxpayers greatly while producing little or no public safety dividend.

With an incarceration rate 21 percent higher than the national average, Florida must work to rebalance its correctional system. But lawmakers are off to a strong start. This new data bill will make Florida a leader in the collection and use of criminal justice data.

Let’s hope this victory is the first of many on the road to a thoughtful and effective criminal justice system. The people of Florida deserve no less.

Len Engel is the director of policy and campaigns at the Crime and Justice Institute. He has directed criminal justice research projects in Florida and many other states, and has more than 25 years experience working on criminal and juvenile justice policy issues.