ALEC and Georgia State Legislators gather to learn about Criminal Justice reforms

ALEC and Georgia State Legislators gather to learn about Criminal Justice reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 16, 2012) – The Georgia Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform has produced a set of policy recommendations which align with ALEC model policies that improve public safety, increase offender accountability and control corrections spending for the state. Key elements of the recommendations align with a framework of policy that was the product of a Corrections and Reentry Working Group at ALEC tasked with producing better public safety outcomes at a lower cost.

At the invitation of ALEC Georgia State Chairs, Senator Chip Rogers and Representative Calvin Hill, Georgia legislators gathered to discuss the proposed recommendations to the state’s criminal justice system. Judge Michael Boggs of the Georgia Court of Appeals moderated a dynamic panel of policymakers who have been essential to reform efforts in Georgia and nationally.

Key policy leaders within Georgia voiced their support for the Council’s recommendations. Representative Jay Neal and Senator Bill Cowsert discussed the recommendations and fielded questions from attendees.  Representative Jerry Madden of Texas, the ALEC Public Safety Task Force Public Sector Chair and a national leader of criminal justice reform, gave the perspective of a state that has already passed comprehensive reforms. Representative Madden discussed how the reforms he spearheaded in 2005 enabled Texas to reduce its crime rate by 10 percent and save approximately $2 billion on prison costs.

ALEC supports reforms that protect communities at a lower cost by reducing recidivism through strengthened community supervision programs, by improving government efficiency through data collection and performance measurement, and by concentrating prison space on violent and career criminals to contain corrections costs.

In 2011 alone, states such as Arkansas, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky, enacted reforms that employ evidence-based practices to provide for offender rehabilitation and accountability, protect the community and increase victim restitution.

ALEC’s Public Safety and Elections Task Force is committed to providing solutions that apply accountability, limited government, private enterprise and fiscal and personal responsibility to criminal justice problems.