SAFE Justice Act
The Safe, Accountable, Fair, and Effective (SAFE) Justice Act, introduced with Congressman Jason Lewis (R-MN), takes a broad-based approach to improving the federal sentencing and corrections system, from front-end sentencing reform to back-end release policies. It is also the first bill that addresses the federal supervision system – ensuring that probation does a better job stopping the revolving door at federal prisons. The legislation, which is inspired by the successes of states across the country, will reduce recidivism, concentrate prison space on violent and career criminals, increase the use of evidence-based alternatives to incarceration, curtail over-criminalization, reduce crime, and save money.
Similar to the successful reform packages enacted in many states, the SAFE Justice Act aligns the federal prison system with the science about what works to reform criminal behavior. It reflects the growing consensus among researchers that, for many offenders, tacking more months and years onto long prison terms is a high-cost, low-return approach to public safety. It also looks to the growing number of practices in correctional supervision that are shown to reduce recidivism. In the past 10 years, the federal imprisonment rate has jumped by 15 percent while the states' rate has declined 4 percent. The drop in the states' imprisonment rate, which occurred alongside sustained reductions in crime, can be attributed in large part to the more than two dozen states that have enacted comprehensive, evidence-based corrections reforms.
The SAFE Justice Act will:
- Reduce recidivism by –
- incentivizing completion of evidence-based prison programming and activities through expanded earned time credits;
- implementing swift, certain, and proportionate sanctions for violations of supervision; and
- offering credits for compliance with the conditions of supervision.
- Concentrate prison space on violent and career criminals by –
- focusing mandatory minimum sentences on leaders and supervisors of drug trafficking organizations;
- safely expanding the drug trafficking safety valve (an exception to mandatory minimums) for qualified offenders; and
- creating release valves for lower-risk geriatric and terminally-ill offenders.
- Increase use of evidence-based sentencing alternatives by –
- encouraging greater use of probation and problem-solving courts for appropriate offenders; and
- creating a performance-incentive funding program to better align the interests of the Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Probation Offices.
- Curtail overcriminalization by –
- requiring regulatory criminal offenses to be compiled and published for the public;
- ensuring fiscal impact statements are attached to all future sentencing and corrections proposals; and
- charging the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Prisons, and the Administrative Office of the Courts with collecting key outcome performance measures.
- Reduce crime by –
- investing in evidence-based crime prevention initiatives; and
- increasing funding for community based policing and public safety initiatives.
- Bill Text
- Two-Page Summary
- Cosponsors
- Introduction Press Release
- Panel on Criminal Justice Reform and the SAFE Justice Act
What Organizations Say About the SAFE Justice Act
- American Conservative Union Foundation
- FreedomWorks
- NAACP
- National Urban League
- Families Against Mandatory Minimums
- R Street
- 09.01.17 | Harvard Magazine: Criminal Injustice
- 03.22.17 | Philly.com: Blue, red, urban, rural -- Pennsylvania voters back help for ex-offenders
- 09.29.16 | VICE: How Criminal Justice Reform Died
- 04.13.16 | The New York Times: Did Blacks Really Endorse the 1994 Crime Bill?
- 10.28.15 | Newsweek: Ending Mass Incarceration: Congress Divides Over How Quickly To Do It
- 10.28.15 | The Hill: Coercing guilty please still a problem in Senate sentencing bill
- 10.27.15 | Slate: How Much Will Congress Really Reduce the Prison Population?
- 10.24.15 | The Salt Lake Tribune: Op-ed: Criminal justice reform means getting smart about crime
- 10.02.15 | Mother Jones: The New Bipartisan Criminal-Justice Reform Bill Doesn't Live Up to Its Own Hype
- 10.02.15 | Forbes: Senator Grassley's Bill For Prison Reform Missing One Key Item - Savings
- 10.01.15 | Human Rights Watch: Dispatches: Strange Bedfellows for US Criminal Justice Reform
- 08.25.15 | MSNBC: In 2016 race, drug courts get second look
- 08.21.15 | The Washington Informer: Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Advances in America
- 08.16.15 | The Daily Press: Rep.Bobby Scott files bill to reform federal sentencing | Crime & Legal Issues notebook
- 08.15.15 | The Washington Post: Unlikely Allies
- 08.14.15 | The Hill: No more costly mandatory minimum sentences
- 08.12.15 | WAVY News: Rep.Scott Criminal Justice Reform event
- 08.11.15 | The Huffington Post: The Movement for Criminal Justice Reform: Honoring its True Heroes
- 08.08.15 | The Progress- Index: Rep. Scott aims to reduce over-criminalization
- 08.04.15 | Matt Lewis: The Overcriminalization of America
- 08.07.15 | MSNBC: Rep. Scott discusses the SAFE Justice Act on Politics Nation with Rev. Al Sharpton
- 08.03.15 | News Sentinel: Bipartisan support expected of criminal justice reform
- 08.03.15 | Brennan Center For Justice: In a Nutshell: Criminal Justice Bills Pending Before Congress
- 07.31.15 | The Philadelphia Examiner: Both parties ready to tackle criminal justice reform
- 07.31.15 | NPR: Despite High Expectations, Sentencing Reform Proposals Still On Ice
- 07.30.15 | Washington Examiner: Now is the time for criminal justice reform
- 07.28.15 | MSNBC The Cycle: Both parties come together in the name of justice
- 07.28.15 | The New York Times: Bipartisan Push Builds to Relax Sentencing Laws
- 07.24.15 | Next City: Can Community-Centered Reentry Be the Key to Reducing Recidivism?
- 07.14.15 | 13 News Daybreak: Congressman Scott Hosted Forum On Criminal Justice Reform
- 07.28.15 | MSNBC: Rep. Scott and Rep. Collins discuss the SAFE Justice Act on The Cycle
- 07.28.15 | Reason.com: U.S. Attorneys Group Digs Out Every Horrible Drug War Argument to Fight Sentencing Reform
- 07.28.15 | MSNBC: The Cycle interview with Rep.Scott & Collins on SAFE Justice Act
- 07.28.15 | Cato Institute: Podcast interview with Rep.Scott & Sensenbrenner on SAFE Justice Act
- 07.27.15 | National Journal: Congress Wrestles with Solutions for Heroin Epidemic
- 07.27.15 | Politics 365: Most Bi-Partisan Justice Reform Bill in Congress Has 36 Sponsors
- 07.25.15 | San Antonio Express News Editorial Board: American justice is not all that blind
- 07.24.15 | Roll Call: Convicted Republicans Plead for Mandatory Minimums Changes
- 07.23.15 | The Advocate: Panel in Baton Rouge pushes for reform of nation's criminal justice system
- 07.23.15 | Huffington Post: Congress May Actually Do Something On Criminal Justice Reform
- 07.23.15 | The Chicago Monitor: Obama's Criminal Justice Plans: A Response to Ferguson?
- 07.22.15 | WATCHDOG: Unlikely allies form united front on criminal justice reform at summit
- 07.22.15 | TIME: Can Congress Pass Criminal Justice Reform?
- 07.22.15 | The Hill: Lawmakers come together to push criminal justice reform
- 07.22.15 | Washington Examiner: The criminal justice reform moment
- 07.20.15 | The Root: GOP, Former President Clinton Change Tune on Criminal Justice
- 07.19.15 | Los Angeles Times: Bid to alter drug laws and allow some early prison releases gains ground in Congress
- 07.18.15 | Fox News.com: The time is now to reform our criminal justice system
- 07.17.15 | Freedom Works: The SAFE Justice Act would bring groundbreaking reforms enacted by conservative states to the federal government
- 07.16.15 | Think Progress: Speaker Boehner Supports the SAFE Act. It Would Change Drug Sentencing
- 07.16.15 | The Libertarian Republic: Bill Clinton: I Made A Mistake On Criminal Justice Reform
- 07.16.15 | The Washington Post: The U.S. locks up way too many people. That could change.
- 07.16.15 | The Colorado Statesman: Time to consider data-driven justice system?
- 07.16.15 | The Huffington Post: John Boehner Says Many People In Prison 'Really Don't Need To Be There'
- 07.16.15 | The New York Times: President Obama Takes On the Prison Crisis
- 07.16.15 | BuzzFeed: Boehner Backs Bill That Would Change Sentencing For Non-Violent Drug Crimes
- 07.16.15 | Vox: The House may be ready for major, bipartisan criminal justice reforms
- 07.15.15 | Democracy Now: Strange Bedfellows: Why Are the Koch Brothers & Van Jones Teaming Up to End Mass Incareration?
- 07.15.15 | Slate.com : Obama Wants to End Mass Incarceration
- 07.14.15 | The Economist: Democracy in America
- 07.14.15 | The Washington Post: Obama's calling for sentencing reform: Will it happen?
- 07.14.15 | The Washington Post: Obama tells NAACP that justice reform is long overdue 07.10.15
- 07.13.15 | The Hill: Criminal justice system needs to change
- 07.12.15 | PJ Media: Love: Criminal Justice Reform Not Just Fiscal Issue, But 'Moral Issue'
- 07.10.15 | The Atlantic: The Moment for Criminal Justice Reform?
- 07.10.15 | Bloomberg Politics: Obama to Push U.S. Sentencing Change Backed by Koch Brothers
- 07.07.15 | Politico Magazine: A New Beginning for Criminal Justice Reform
- 07.06.15 | Washington Times: Lawmakers reach across the aisle to draft criminal justice reform
- 07.02.15 | Washington Examiner: Wisconsin Lawmakers central to Obama's late-term agenda
- 07.02.15 | Human Rights Watch: U.S.: Adopt New Criminal Justice Bill
- 07.01.15 | Politics 365: This is What it Sounds Like When the Koch Brothers Support Justice Reform
- 07.01.15 | BET: Commentary: Our Chance to Fix America's Prison System
- 06.27.15 | The Daily Caller: Congress Set To Take On Criminal Justice Reform This Year
- 06.26.15 | The Huffington Post: Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Bill Could Cut Crime, Reduce Recidividm And Save Money
- 06.26.15 | Essence: New Bill Aims to Reduce Prison Populations and Decrease Crime Rates
- 06.26.15 | Reason.Com: Bipartisan Bill Would 'Reserve Federal Prisons for Serious Offenders'
- 06.25.15 | The Washington Times: How to fix the federal prison system
- 06.25.15 | The Constitution Project: Safe Justice Act Includes Many 'Common Sense' Reforms, TCP says
- 06.25.15 | CNN: New bill gets smart on justice
- 06.25.15 | The Hill: House lawmakers unveil bipartisan criminal reform bill
- 06.22.15 | The New York Times: Momentum on Criminal Justice Repair