Policy Document Series · Issue 12 of 35 · Safety & Justice
Criminal Justice
& Policing
End Mass Incarceration. Build a System That Works.
The US incarcerates 542 people per 100,000 — 16 times Japan, 8 times Germany. The system costs $1 trillion per year in social costs and produces 83% recidivism. Every peer democracy has lower crime and lower incarceration. This is not about being soft on crime. It is about being smart about crime.
542
Incarcerated per 100K — 4.5× Russia, 8× Germany, 16× Japan
83%
Rearrested within 9 years — the system fails to rehabilitate
$1T
Total annual social cost of mass incarceration
88%
Of prison growth driven by harsher sentencing — not rising crime
The United States incarcerates 542 people per 100,000 — 4.5 times Russia, 8 times Germany, 16 times Japan. The prison population grew seven-fold from 1970 to 2009, with 88% of the increase driven by harsher sentencing policy, not rising crime. The system costs $1 trillion per year in total social costs and produces 83% recidivism within 9 years.
Norway
~20%
Recidivism — rebuilt from US-comparable 60–70% through rehabilitation model, not retribution.
Portugal
−85%
Overdose deaths after decriminalizing all drug possession in 2001. Drug-related HIV fell 98%.
Washington DC
90%
Arrest-free rate after eliminating cash bail in 1992. Violent crime at a 30-year low. 89% court appearances.
Eleven pillars attacking mass incarceration from every direction — pretrial, policing, prosecution, sentencing, incarceration, reentry, and community investment. Abolish cash bail, qualified immunity, mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses, the federal death penalty, and private prisons. Transform policing. Decriminalize drug possession. Invest $50 billion per year in communities instead of cages. Every reform retroactive.
Mass incarceration is not a response to crime. It is a policy choice — and one that has failed by every measurable standard while producing devastating racial and economic harm.
The US incarcerates 542 per 100,000. Even Massachusetts, the lowest-incarceration US state, would rank 30th globally — higher than Iran. The prison population grew 7-fold from 1970 to 2009. The National Academies found 88% of the increase was driven by harsher sentencing policy, not rising crime. The system costs $1.014 trillion per year in total social costs — for every $1 in corrections spending, incarceration generates $10 in social costs.
The racial arithmetic is stark. Black Americans are 13% of the population but 37% of those imprisoned — incarcerated at 5× the rate of white Americans. Equal drug usage produces 3.6× higher arrest rates and sentences that are 13.4% longer. Before 1986's Anti-Drug Abuse Act, Black defendants received sentences 11% longer than white defendants. After: 49% longer.
The system does not rehabilitate. 68% are rearrested within 3 years. 83% within 9 years. 65% of families with an incarcerated member cannot meet basic needs. 83% of those paying court-related debt are women. The system exports poverty and devastation into the communities it purports to protect.
Sources: Prison Policy Initiative — Global Comparison ·
National Academies — 88% Sentencing-Driven ·
Washington University — $1T Social Cost ·
BJS — Recidivism Study ·
Prison Policy — Racial Disparities
Mass incarceration was built through deliberate policy choices over five decades. It did not emerge from crime. It was constructed.
The legislative record is unambiguous. The War on Drugs (Nixon, escalated by Reagan and Clinton). The 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act and its 100:1 crack-to-powder cocaine disparity. Mandatory minimum sentencing that removed judicial discretion. Three-strikes laws. The 1994 Crime Bill's prison construction subsidies. Truth-in-sentencing mandates. Drug incarceration grew 1,100% from 1980. These were choices.
The racial targeting was structural, not incidental. The 1986 Act ensured 5 grams of crack (associated with Black communities) triggered the same 5-year mandatory minimum as 500 grams of powder cocaine (associated with white users). The disparity was explicit in congressional debate and explicit in its effect: a 49% racial sentencing gap within a decade.
The pipeline begins in schools. Black students are 3.6× more likely to be suspended and 3.4× more likely to be expelled for equivalent behavior. They account for 31.6% of school arrests despite being ~15% of enrollment. 38% of state prisoners were first arrested before age 16. Zero-tolerance school discipline is a direct feeder into the carceral system.
Sources: ACLU — Crack Cocaine Disparity ·
UC Berkeley — School Discipline Disparities
Every peer democracy achieves lower crime with dramatically lower incarceration. The US approach is the outlier — and the failure. The question is not whether reform is possible. It is whether we choose to do it.
| Country |
Rate / 100K |
Recidivism |
Key Feature |
| Norway |
55 |
~25% |
Rehabilitation model; max 21-year sentence; open prisons; 1:1 staff-to-inmate ratio |
| Finland |
52 |
~30% |
Welfare state as crime prevention; short sentences the default; community supervision |
| Netherlands |
64 |
~30% |
Closed 19 prisons since 2009 — not enough prisoners to fill them |
| Germany |
68 |
~30–35% |
Constitutional right to re-socialization; 3-year police training; rehabilitative default |
| Japan |
33 |
~9% |
Community policing; prosecutorial discretion; strong social safety net |
| United States |
542 |
71% rearrest |
Punishment model; mandatory minimums; for-profit bail; 672-hour avg. police training |
The police training gap is a separate crisis:
| Country |
Training Hours |
Fatal Shootings / 10M Population |
| Norway |
4,500 (3-year degree) |
~1.9 |
| Germany |
4,000 (3-year degree) |
~2 |
| United Kingdom |
2,250 (2-year degree) |
0.3 |
| United States |
672 (21 weeks average) |
33 — 110× England's rate |
US academies spend 3.4× more hours on firearms than de-escalation. Countries with longer, more academically rigorous training produce officers who are safer for the public and for themselves. This is not a resource question — it is a prioritization question.
Sources: BBC — Norway Rehabilitation Model ·
Transform Drugs — Portugal Decriminalization ·
Statista — Police Fatal Shootings
Eleven pillars attacking mass incarceration from every direction — pretrial, policing, prosecution, sentencing, incarceration, reentry, and community investment. Every reform retroactive.
DC (cash-bail-free since 1992): 89% court appearance · 90% arrest-free · violent crime at 30-year low · NJ reform: 44% jail reduction, $68M/year saved
- The US and Philippines are the only two countries with for-profit bail. Over 60% of people in jail haven't been convicted — they're there because they cannot afford to pay for their release.
- Replace with risk-based pretrial services. Courts retain full authority to detain genuinely dangerous individuals based on assessed risk, not bank balance.
- New Jersey (2017): 44% jail reduction, zero gun violence increase, appearance rates rose to 91–97%, saved $68M/year — the reform pays for itself.
Judicially invented — Congress never authorized it · 4 states eliminated it with zero crime increase
- Qualified immunity is a judicially invented doctrine — Congress never authorized it. Courts have shielded officers who shot children and attacked surrendered suspects because no prior case matched the exact facts.
- Amend § 1983 to remove the "clearly established law" defense. Require professional liability insurance — governments currently pay 99.98% of $730M in judgments. Officers face zero personal financial accountability.
- Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Nevada already eliminated it — with no increase in crime and no measurable effect on police recruitment or behavior.
No deterrence effect · FIRST STEP Act: 9.7% vs. 44.8% baseline recidivism · All reforms retroactive
- No deterrence effect. Offenders are unaware of mandatory penalties at the time of the offense. Certainty of punishment deters crime; severity does not.
- Repeal all federal mandatory minimums for non-violent drug offenses. Restore full judicial discretion — judges, not legislators, should weigh individual circumstances.
- All reforms retroactive. FIRST STEP Act model: participants showed 9.7% recidivism versus 44.8% for the baseline population.
- Phase out three-strikes for non-violent offenses — NBER research shows three-strikes incentivizes more violent crime by flattening the penalty gradient between offenses.
Only G7 nation executing · 200 exonerations since 1973 · 1 wrongful execution per 8 · zero deterrence evidence
- The US is the only G7 nation still executing. 144 countries have abolished capital punishment. Every credible study shows zero deterrence effect.
- 200 death row exonerations since 1973 — 1 per every 8 executions. At least 21 likely-innocent people have already been executed. 75% of exonerees were people of color.
- California's death penalty costs $137M/year versus $11.5M for life-imprisonment-maximum. Capital punishment is more expensive and less accountable than the alternative.
- Abolish federally. Commute all death sentences. Use federal funding leverage to incentivize state abolition over time.
2-year federal training standard · national misconduct registry · civilian oversight with real power
- Federal 2-year minimum police training standard — de-escalation, mental health response, constitutional law, and community engagement. Federal funding tied to compliance. No more 21-week academies with 3.4× more firearms hours than de-escalation.
- National Police Misconduct Registry codified in statute — not an executive order. No fired officer rehired at another agency. The "gypsy cop" problem ends.
- Mandatory body cameras with strict activation policies and penalties. Evidence: 17% complaint reduction, 10% use-of-force reduction in controlled studies.
- Federal use-of-force standards: ban chokeholds, require de-escalation, duty to intervene, warning before shooting. Standards cannot be reversed by executive order.
- Civilian oversight boards with real power — subpoena authority, independent investigation, and disciplinary enforcement. Subject to Universal Mandatory Duty to Act Standard.
- DOJ consent decree enforcement protected in statute — cannot be withdrawn by a single administration. Pattern-or-practice investigations restored and expanded.
CAHOOTS: 24K calls/year, 1.3% need police · STAR Denver: 14K+ encounters, zero arrests · $2M saves $8.5M
- CAHOOTS (Eugene, OR): 24,000 calls per year handled by clinicians and crisis workers — only 1.3% require police backup. $2M budget saves $8.5M in downstream costs.
- STAR (Denver): 14,000+ encounters with a mental health-first team. 3% psychiatric holds. Zero arrests in the pilot period.
- Every city over 100,000 must establish federally funded civilian-led mobile crisis response — dispatched at the 911 call-taker level, not as police backup. Multi-year protected funding so programs can't be eliminated after one budget cycle.
Portugal model: −85% overdoses, −98% HIV, usage below EU average · less than $10/citizen/year
- Personal possession of all drugs becomes an administrative offense — diversion panels of health professionals, not courts and jails. Drug trafficking remains criminal.
- Massive investment in harm reduction: needle exchange programs, medication-assisted treatment (MAT), mobile outreach, and housing as health intervention.
- The War on Drugs spent $1 trillion and produced 73.8 overdose deaths per 100,000. The punitive model is the documented failure.
Mandatory judicial review after half-term · LWOP largely eliminated · 13th Amendment exception repealed
- Mandatory judicial review of all sentences over 15 years after service of half the term — courts must affirmatively reconfirm the sentence is still proportionate.
- Eliminate life without parole (LWOP) for all offenses except mass casualty events — replace with parole eligibility after 25 years. Give people a meaningful path out.
- Constitutional amendment to eliminate the 13th Amendment involuntary servitude exception — end the legal basis for prison labor as a form of slavery.
Open-file discovery · racial data reporting · presumptive diversion · abolish the trial penalty
- Open-file discovery — defendants have the right to see everything prosecutors have. End strategic evidence concealment.
- Mandatory racial data reporting at every stage of the charging, plea, and sentencing process — make disparities visible and legally actionable.
- Presumptive diversion for non-violent, low-history defendants. Abolish the trial penalty — the practice of threatening dramatically harsher sentences to coerce guilty pleas from innocent people.
13% higher rearrest · 22% higher reconviction · 79% of ICE detainees in for-profit facilities
- Ban all federal contracting with for-profit prison and detention companies. 79% of ICE detainees are held in private facilities. Private prisons produce 13% higher rearrest and 22% higher reconviction rates — they are structurally incentivized to fail.
- Phase out existing contracts over 3 years. Prohibit minimum-bed guarantees — the contractual obligation to keep cells filled regardless of crime rates.
CURE Violence: $16 return per $1 invested · 56–75% reductions in targeted killings · $50B/yr from reduced incarceration
- CURE Violence: $16 return per $1 invested. 56–75% reductions in killings in targeted neighborhoods. Evidence-based, not aspirational.
- Community reentry programs: 26.5% vs. 39.1% recidivism in California — a one-third reduction. Invest in the transition, not just the incarceration.
- $50 billion per year redirected from incarceration to community investment as the prison population falls. Every dollar follows the evidence.
- Eliminate 44,000+ collateral consequences — the web of restrictions on housing, employment, and education that make successful reentry structurally impossible.
- Restore voting rights upon release. Federal Ban the Box. End the permanent punishment that extends beyond incarceration.
Sources: DC Justice Lab — Cash Bail Results ·
JAMA — New Jersey Reform ·
Minnesota Law Review — Police Indemnification ·
FAMM — No Deterrence Effect ·
Council on Criminal Justice — FIRST STEP Act ·
National Academies — Death Penalty Deterrence ·
NPR — Body Camera Study ·
CURE Violence — ROI Data ·
CDCR — Reentry Recidivism ·
OpenSecrets — Private Prison Contracts
The current system costs $1 trillion per year in total social costs. Every reform in this platform either saves money directly or produces dramatically higher returns than the current approach. The question is not whether we can afford reform — it is whether we can afford the status quo.
| Component |
Fiscal Impact |
Notes |
| Bail reform |
Net savings |
NJ saved $68M/year. Fewer pretrial detainees = lower jail costs immediately. |
| Police training standards |
Federal grants |
Tied to compliance. Offset by reduced misconduct settlements and litigation costs. |
| Mental health response |
Net positive ROI |
CAHOOTS: $2M budget saves $8.5M. Diverts calls that don't need police response. |
| Community violence intervention |
Issue 2 revenue |
$16 return per $1 invested. Saves lives and future incarceration costs. |
| Reentry programs |
Redirected savings |
$50B/yr redirected as reduced incarceration generates savings over time. |
| Decarceration savings |
Direct savings |
Each prisoner costs $23K–$307K/year depending on state. Reduced population = direct savings. |
Phase 1 — Day 1 to Month 6
Abolitions and Accountability
Federal cash bail abolition introduced. Qualified immunity repeal enacted. Federal death penalty moratorium. National Police Misconduct Registry codified in statute. DOJ consent decrees restored and protected.
Phase 2 — Month 6 to Year 1
Sentencing and Prosecution Reform
Mandatory minimum repeal for non-violent offenses. Retroactive resentencing begins immediately. Drug decriminalization act. Private prison ban enacted. Police training standards legislated with federal funding tied to compliance.
Phase 3 — Year 1 to Year 2
Systems Transformation
Mental health crisis response funded and operational in all cities over 100,000. CVI programs expanded nationally. Civilian oversight boards operational. Body camera mandate enforced. Sentencing reform enacted with retroactive application.
Phase 4 — Year 2 to Year 5
Investment and Measurement
Police training transition underway nationwide. Reentry investment scaled to $50B/year as prison population declines. Private prison contracts phased out. Outcomes measured against baselines. 13th Amendment reform introduced.
"This is soft on crime."
Norway is not soft on crime. It has lower crime AND lower incarceration. It rebuilt its system from US-comparable 60–70% recidivism and cut it to 20%. States that cut incarceration 25–55% saw crime fall faster than the national average. Smart on crime means investing in what actually reduces victimization — not just what sounds tough in a campaign ad.
"Bail reform increases crime."
DC eliminated cash bail 30 years ago — 89% court appearance rate, 90% arrest-free, violent crime at a 30-year low. New Jersey: 44% jail reduction, zero gun violence increase. Illinois: no measurable crime uptick. The Brennan Center analyzed 33 cities and found no relationship between bail reform and crime. The evidence is not ambiguous.
"Ending qualified immunity will make police afraid to do their jobs."
Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, and Nevada already ended it — with no increase in crime and no measurable effect on police recruitment or behavior. Professional liability insurance — like doctors and lawyers carry — creates accountability without paralysis. The current doctrine shields officers who shoot children because no prior case matches the exact facts. That is not a feature. It is a failure.
"Drug decriminalization will increase drug use."
Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001. Usage stayed below the European average. Overdoses dropped 85%. Drug-related HIV dropped 98%. The cost: less than $10 per citizen per year. The US spent $1 trillion on the War on Drugs and has 73.8 overdose deaths per 100,000. The punitive approach is the documented failure. The health approach works.
"Some people deserve to die for what they did."
200 people on death row have been exonerated — 1 per every 8 executions. At least 21 likely-innocent people have already been executed. 75% of exonerees were people of color. There is zero credible evidence of deterrence. The government should not have the power to execute its citizens when the system is this fallible, this expensive, and this racially biased. Retribution is not a sufficient justification for killing innocent people.
What this platform does — every commitment, in plain language:
| Reform |
Action |
| Cash bail | Abolished — replaced with risk-based pretrial services |
| Qualified immunity | Abolished — professional liability insurance required |
| Mandatory minimums | Repealed for non-violent offenses — all reforms retroactive |
| Death penalty | Abolished federally — all sentences commuted |
| Police training | 2-year federal minimum; de-escalation as the core |
| Police accountability | National registry; body cameras mandatory; civilian oversight with power |
| Mental health calls | Civilian-led mobile response in every city over 100,000 |
| Drug possession | Decriminalized — health response, not criminal justice |
| Sentencing | Judicial review after half-term; LWOP largely eliminated |
| Private prisons | Banned from all federal contracting |
| Community investment | $50B/yr to CVI, reentry, prevention — from reduced incarceration savings |
Issue 1
HealthcareSingle-payer covers mental health and addiction universally — the demand side of the drug crisis and the upstream prevention of violence.
Issue 3
HousingHousing First is the most effective reentry intervention available. Criminalizing homelessness creates a direct pipeline into the carceral system.
Issue 4
EducationThe school-to-prison pipeline is a direct consequence of zero-tolerance policing. Funded schools with counselors replace police in hallways.
Issue 5
Immigration79% of ICE detainees are held in private facilities — the same corporations profiting from criminal incarceration. The ban covers both.
Issue 10
Gun PolicyCommunity violence intervention addresses both gun violence and incarceration — upstream investment, not downstream punishment.
Issue 2
TaxationProgressive revenue funds the reinvestment. The $1T annual social cost of incarceration is itself a tax levied disproportionately on the poor and communities of color.
"The United States built the largest carceral state in democratic history. It costs a trillion dollars a year. It produces 83% recidivism. Every peer democracy has lower crime and lower incarceration. This is not about being soft on crime — it is about being smart about crime. End mass incarceration. Invest in communities. Make every reform retroactive. Build a system that actually works."
— The Common Good Party
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