Guest AuthorThe 2014 legislative session may go down as a watershed year for Smart Justice initiatives that were passed and are now on their way to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature.
After a decade or more of tough love for criminals, which has no doubt helped to decrease Florida’s crime rate, the Republican-led Legislature wisely passed much-needed legislation on a variety of criminal-justice initiatives.
Starting with the head of the snake – juvenile justice – landmark legislation filed by Sen. Rob Bradley codified the transition of the Department of Juvenile Justice. Under Secretary Wansley Walters, the department has evolved from a punitive agency to one of prevention and diversion. The number of juveniles arrested has decreased significantly over the past decade and the agency has transformed itself from mostly long-term residential to front-end treatment with strong outcomes.
As noted by Walters, this two-year effort that involved all stakeholders passed unanimously in both chambers.
Scott did his part by promoting an increase in drug-treatment diversion beds so that fewer non-violent felons with an addiction would have to go to prison. While the overall number of diversion beds is still lower than before the recession, Scott has shown consistent leadership by recommending more beds and the Legislature answered his call.
In addition, Scott proposed opening two new treatment prisons, in Baker and Miami-Dade counties, that will eventually house 864 inmates. The facilities will provide inmates with education and vocational skills while attacking their behavioral issues. This will be the largest increase in treatment dollars for inmates in many years.
The Inmate Reentry Act, proposed by the Florida Smart Justice Alliance, was passed unanimously in the Senate and had only token opposition in the House. The culmination of an eight-year fight, the bill sponsored by Sen. David Simmons and Reps. Charlie Stone and Dennis Baxley calls for all inmates leaving Florida prisons to have an identification card that will assist them in getting a job and a place to live. It also encourages the Department of Corrections to increase the number of faith-based prisons by converting an entire prison rather than just some dormitories in a prison.
The biggest victory was legislation on the number of pills that someone can be caught with before having to go to prison. A bi-partisan effort led by Democratic Rep. Katie Edwards, this change, if signed by the governor, will significantly cut the soaring cost of corrections in Florida.
The state now spends $2.4 billion a year on corrections. With close to 40 percent of inmates in prison because of drugs, raising the threshold for a drug arrest will save a great deal of money.
Legislators also attacked the growing problem of sex trafficking. Florida trails only New York and California in the scope of this heinous crime. Attorney General Pam Bondi has been pushing legislators to address this problem. Rep. Gayle Harrell led the effort to revamp the current system of treatment into one that should produce better outcomes.
Senate President Don Gaetz promised to make Florida “scorched earth” for Sexually Violent Predators (SVP’s) and he and House Speaker Will Weatherford delivered on this promise. While experts tell us that we can never cure these criminals, we do need to do everything possible to keep us safe from them for as long as possible.
Also, Rep. Dana Young filed a bill that will decrease the time that a driver’s license can be revoked for certain drug offenses. A common-sense solution, it can be of immense help to minor drug abusers who otherwise would lose their driving privileges for longer periods of time.
As a whole the Legislature is to be commended for recognizing that simply incarcerating every criminal may not always be the best answer. Sen. Greg Evers said it best, “we need to lock up those that we are afraid of and treat those that we are mad at.”
Floridians need to know that our elected officials understand that public safety is job No. 1. But we should be thankful that they also appreciate that we can best protect ourselves sometimes by treating non-violent criminals rather than tossing them in prison.
Barney Bishop III is the President & CEO of Barney Bishop Consulting, LLC and also serves as the President & CEO of the Florida Smart Justice Alliance. Barney can be reached at [email protected] Column courtesy of Context Florida.
