Safer Supervision Act aims to fix federal criminal justice bureaucracy
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
There is no doubt that President Donald Trump’s focus on public safety has been successful.
His level-headed stance in favor of law and order has boosted his approval ratings and made fighting crime his strongest issue. More than half the country supports his approach. Americans are tired of the lawlessness Democrats have allowed to thrive in our cities and are relieved to see someone fighting against anarchy.
In addition to getting criminals off the streets, the Trump administration must also ensure that we have a place to put them and the manpower to track them down. That means tackling a bloated federal criminal justice bureaucracy that wastes too many resources on the wrong people.
The current system wastes energy, manpower, and money by focusing on low-risk people who pose no threat to anyone, rather than focusing on violent threats. If we’re serious about crime, we need to be tough on the front lines and understanding on the back lines. This means using our law enforcement resources to keep Americans safe, reduce the bloat, and provide ways to give second chances to those who deserve them.
TRUMP’S CASHLESS BAIL REFORM IS A GOOD FIRST STEP. NOW WE NEED 5 MORE
The proposed Safer Supervision Act could help clean up some of the prison bureaucracy and leave prisons in the hands of those who deserve it. (iStock)
Trump has made great strides in improving our prison system in his first term with the passage of the First Step Act. Overly harsh sentences were reduced for thousands of low-risk, non-violent inmates. It also increased educational and job training programs for inmates who are serious about creating a better, law-abiding life for themselves after release. The recidivism rate dropped from 50% to less than 10%. This means that fewer people leaving prison are committing new crimes and are instead starting to rebuild their lives.
The First Step Act was just that; a first step. There is still much work to be done to ensure that dangerous criminals are caught and brought to justice, and that nonviolent people become productive, law-abiding members of society. This is where the Safe Control Act comes into play.
The current federal oversight system is flawed. In particular, federal post-prison monitoring, known as supervised release, has become a costly and inefficient bureaucracy. This measure, originally designed for high-risk cases, is now mandatory in almost every case. Federal probation officers reported more than 100 people were buried under the caseload. This makes it impossible to focus on truly dangerous individuals. Moreover, this one-size-fits-all system creates unnecessary barriers for nonviolent people to try to keep their jobs and reintegrate into society.
CHICAGO RESTAURANT OWNER SLAMS CITY LEADERSHIP FOR CRIME: ‘WE WANT LAW AND ORDER’
Picture this: A man misses his bus and arrives late for a mandatory meeting. Instead of spending his day tracking down violent threats, a federal probation officer spends hours processing a violation report on a person who poses no danger to anyone. Multiply that by hundreds of low-risk cases, and you begin to see how a system designed to keep America safe is doing the exact opposite.
Trump is absolutely the right leader to eliminate red tape and fix the overused federal auditing system, and the Safer Auditing Act offers a rational, commonsense solution. It ensures that law enforcement’s scarce resources are not wasted on paperwork when real threats are out there. It also returns federal oversight to its original purpose: to focus on what is truly dangerous.
The bill requires courts to conduct individualized evaluations to determine whether oversight is necessary and what rules and restrictions are necessary to protect our communities from threats. More importantly, it paves the way for those who have proven themselves to escape scrutiny. This would free officers to focus on the real bad guys.
CLICK FOR OTHER OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS
These reforms are modeled on successes in Republican-led states such as Missouri, South Carolina and Arizona. And that approach was validated in a groundbreaking study published by the Iowa Department of Corrections in August. He found that rewriting strict probation rules into collaborative goals allowed individuals to work with probation officers to achieve stability. This reduced the number of people sent back to prison by more than 25%. Most importantly, the study found that these changes led to reductions in new crimes.
Trump is absolutely the right leader to eliminate red tape and fix the overused federal auditing system, and the Safer Auditing Act offers a rational, commonsense solution.
That’s why the Safer Control Act has earned the trust of frontline workers. For example, the Major Cities Chiefs Association endorsed the bill because its members know it will keep our communities safe.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Trump and the GOP have a great chance to continue making America safe again. The Safer Control Act is America’s first leadership in enforcement. It would reduce crime, respect taxpayers, reward responsibility, and unlock one of the most overlooked solutions to our workforce crisis: regulated Americans who want to work but are hindered by an overly restrictive system.
Americans deserve safe communities, responsible government, and second chances for those who deserve them. Passing the Safer Supervision Act will improve safety, expand the workforce, and strengthen families. It fits perfectly with President Trump’s vision of America’s golden age.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM NEWT GINGRICH
