Perspectives on Conservative Criminal Justice Reform: Discussions About Reform in 2015

In the last decade, conservatives have become the leaders in criminal justice reform. The issue affects many of the values of the conservative movement, such as public safety and limited government. State after state has emphasized public safety and limited government by promoting alternative measures for low-risk offenders and prioritizing precious prison space for violent and high-risk offenders. The results have been falling crime rates, incarceration rates, and savings in the hundreds of millions. Perspectives on Conservative Criminal Justice Policy presents what amounts to a brief course on the subject as it is in 2015, and features some of the most important and influential voices in the field. The topics included are: Criminal Justice Reform: Getting More Safety for Our Tax Dollars; Texas Prison Reform 2.0; 21st Century Juvenile Justice: A Texas-Sized Problem; and Rethinking Mental Health: Are We Throwing the Right Life Lines to People with Mental Illness? This monograph contains the adapted transcripts of several criminal justice panels at events in early 2015: the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual Policy Orientation in Austin, Texas, and the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.