Guest AuthorStay Alive. Don’t drink and drive.
Drive Hammered. Get Slammered.
Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.
As we celebrate the New Year, and a possible national championship celebration for FSU, there are no shortage of reminders about responsible drinking and safe driving. Television commercials and billboards repeatedly sound these clarion calls.
DUI is a senseless and devastating crime that destroys lives. DUI arrests escalate during the holiday season, and law enforcement works overtime to stop DUI offenses before they imperil public safety.
As a former prosecutor, I know violent crimes require tough laws and long sentences to preserve public safety. But lawmakers need to give law enforcement the ability to distinguish immature behavior from violent acts and weigh the cost, not only to the wallet of the taxpayer, but to the safety and well-being of a neighborhood, city, or state.
There is a huge difference between crimes committed with malice aforethought and first-time nonviolent errors. Minor alcohol-related offenses account for numerous non-violent arrests, which tag offenders with jail time and a record in the criminal justice system.
Research shows that once in jail, a high number of offenders will return. FBI crime data for 2012 shows Florida law enforcement officers made 125,589 arrests for non-violent offenses. Many arrested for non-violent offenses enter state prison and county jails, costing Florida taxpayers millions of dollars.
Rather than arresting individuals for non-violent offenses, what if our criminal justice system offered law enforcement discretionary alternatives to arrest and detention — ones that require an admission of guilt, have proven to reduce recidivism, include processing costs and don’t include the costs and negative consequences of incarceration?
Instead of automatically arresting those that drink and act immaturely without harming others, law enforcement officers could resolve the matter through the issuance of civil citations that identify the conduct as unacceptable, but allow individuals to make amends without squandering additional public resources.
Civil citation programs are designed for just this purpose – to fully adjudicate first time non-violent offenders without introducing them to jail and prison. This avoids the “Crime College Syndrome,” where nonviolent inmates are exposed to and influenced by dangerous criminals.
Florida TaxWatch research, through the TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice, conducts evidence-based research into the criminal justice system, seeking smart justice options that improve public safety and reduce taxpayer costs.
The metrics gleaned from civil-citation programs are very positive. The Center’s findings show that non-violent offenders are less likely to re-offend and are far less likely to escalate to violent offenses, or commit additional non-violent crime if their adjudication is resolved outside of the criminal justice system, using civil citations and other diversion programs.
Civil citation programs are required for juveniles around the state, and communities are noticing remarkable results. These citation programs prudently cede ultimate discretion to law enforcement officers, and in doing so allow a method for recording offenses without the stigma of arrest and the harm of placing young people into detention facilities. It is time to translate these successes to the adult population.
If we paint all offenders with a broad brush and apply rigid arrest procedures for minor offenses, we assure an expanding corrections system that consumes tax dollars as fast as they are collected. A second-chance option, created through a civil-citation program, allows Florida to construct a justice system based on rehabilitation.
Cost savings recommendations from a recent Florida TaxWatch report, Modern Management & Sensible Savings, determined that diversion programs like civil citations can reduce the prison population by 10 percent, and save taxpayers up to $72 million each year.
As we celebrate the New Year, Florida TaxWatch reminds those in our communities to be safe and abide by the law. However, TaxWatch believes that a poor decision that does not compromise public safety should not cost taxpayers or impact the future of immature offenders.
