Apr
“The war on drugs, while well intentioned, has been a failure…we’re warehousing addicted people every day in state prisons…giving them no treatment, sending them back out on the street after their term of incarceration, and wondering why recidivism rates go up and why they don’t get better, why they commit crimes again, why they commit crimes to support their addiction. You can certainly make the argument that no one should try drugs in the first place. I certainly am in that camp. But tens of millions of people in our society do every year. And for some people they can try it and walk away from it, but for others, the first time they try it, they become an addict. They’re sick and they need treatment.”
- Chris Christie
Feb
Dealing with the Consequences of Mass Incarceration
Lest you think government is only a broken and useless apparatus, consider Newark, New Jersey’s newly established Office of Reentry, which is designed to grapple with the debilitating consequences of mass imprisonment. According to the Manhattan Institute, “nearly 700,000 prisoners are released annually. If historic trends hold, nearly two-thirds will be re-incarcerated within three years.” The frequently unstated cause of this alarming number is our drug policy, which has resulted in one marijuana arrest every 42 seconds in the U.S. and which adversely affects low income, crime-ridden cities such as Newark.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has proposed a more humane and pragmatic alternative to simply incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders by instead offering them effective treatment. Included in Christie’s strategy to ease the burden of mass incarceration on the state was support for “treatment and reentry programs.” Newark’s Office of Reentry seems to embody such a program.
The Wall Street Journal elaborated on the method and record of the city’s reentry efforts:
The Office of Reentry works with five job-placement programs, which develop relationships with employers, help ex-offenders get basic identification and teach them how to dress and conduct themselves in an interview.
The experience shows that, even in the teeth of a bad economy, those who may seem like the least employable job candidates have found work: as cooks and kitchen aides in restaurants, as forklift operators in warehouses adjacent to Newark’s port, on the night shift at convenience stores, packing deliveries at a paint distribution center.
So far the Newark program has seen 1,800 ex-offenders (all of whom sought help voluntarily), and placed 1,090 in private, unsubsidized jobs. While New Jersey’s Department of Corrections estimates that 50% of those released from prison will be rearrested for a new crime within nine months, the Newark office has seen only 29% rearrested—and believes that figure to be exaggerated by arrests which do not lead to charges.
This program, though burdened by an unnecessary and totally ineffective drug war, is still applicable even in the absence of high incarceration rates for drug offenses. It is a system that, to echo the sentiments of Gov. Christie, does not discard the lives of human beings in exchange for an almost authoritarian “tough on crime” posture. Reentry programs that follow Newark’s model offer hope for ex-offenders and provide empirical support for drug policy reform.
Oct
There aren’t enough Cory Bookers on this planet. A true leader.
Oct
Cory Booker is Newark’s human Google.
Sep
Classic Booker.
Jul
New Jersey will begin requiring nonviolent, drug-addicted offenders to enter treatment programs, even if they don’t apply for admission, rather than be locked up in state prisons, under a law enacted by Gov. Chris Christie.
“What we’re dealing with with most people here is an addiction, an illness, that needs to be treated as such,” said Christie. “I truly, firmly believe that this will not only be extraordinarily successful in terms of the numbers that it will produce over time, but I also believe that even if it was successful only once we could claim success.”
Jul
The so called War on Drugs has not succeeded in making significant reductions in drug use, drug arrests or violence. We are pouring huge amounts of our public resources into this current effort that are bleeding our public treasury and unnecessarily undermining human potential.
I see the BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of dollars being poured into the criminal justice system here in New Jersey and it represents big overgrown government at its worst. We should be investing dollars in programs and strategies that work not just to lower crime but work to empower lives.
Feb
Letter written to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, urging Christie to support gay marriage
Feb
N.J. Senate approves bill legalizing gay marriage
I am proud to report that a close member of my family voted in support of gay marriage in the New Jersey Senate today.
Despite Gov. Christie’s expected veto, it should be said that these bills are always the first step toward eventual success.
Jan
Chris Christie calls for a “transformation” of New Jersey’s drug laws
I am calling for a transformation of the way we deal with drug abuse and incarceration in every corner of New Jersey. So, today I ask this Legislature and the Chief Justice to join me in this commitment that no life is disposable.
I propose mandatory treatment for every non-violent offender with a drug abuse problem in New Jersey, not just a select few. It will send a clear message to those who have fallen victim to the disease of drug abuse — we want to help you, not throw you away. We will require you to get treatment. Because your life has value. Every one of God’s creatures can be redeemed. Everyone deserves a second chance.
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This is an exciting reappraisal of draconian drug laws and undoubtedly a step in the right direction. Addiction should be a health issue, not a criminal issue. Aiding addicts in their recovery will save the state money, reduce prison overcrowding, and improve crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Nov
Tell It Like It Is, Spike Lee
Nov
Jon Stewart Details the Spectacular Downfall of Jon Corzine
“Politician Jon Corzine saw Lehman Brothers as a cautionary tale. Financial firm honcho Jon Corzine saw it as a dare.”
