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House Bill 3350 Position: The expert and varied DOC Advisory Board created by HB 3350 is vitally important because Corrections facilities – our prisons and jails – are not open to the media or the public. Therefore, while many legislators have made isolated visits to the facilities in their districts, the fact is that even those that sit on the Public Safety Committee (which is charged with oversight of Corrections) have virtually no access to sources of information about the DOC that does not come from the DOC themselves. In our constitutional system based on checks and balances between the branches of government, this inability to perform an adequate check is an unacceptable obstacle to effective self-governing. We’ve more than tripled the number of inmates in the Commonwealth over the past twenty years, causing us to now spend nearly a quarter billion dollars per year on corrections. Roughly 95% of all inmates will ultimately return to our communities at a current rate of roughly 6,000 per year. The question is: As a society, are we safer or less safe as a result of their experience while incarcerated? With an expert and varied Department of Correction Advisory Board, we can not only answer that question – we can recommend and have the legislature implement the necessary changes as well. |
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Criminal Justice Policy Coalition |