Virginia CURE » Recommendations
Reducing Incarceration
Results of Virginia’s Abolition of Parole & Associated Policies: The well intentioned efforts aimed at “get tough on crime,” initiated in 1995 with the abolishment of parole and harsher sentencing, do not appear to have had any significant impact on public safety, despite increased expenditures for incarceration (in excess of normal increases due to population and inflation) of well over $1 billion over the last ten years alone.
Virginia CURE supports responsible public safety measures, but based on the history of the past decade it appears that Virginia could save millions of dollars with less reliance on incarceration, with no negative impact on public safety.
Recommended changes include:
Filed under: Featured, Recommendations_Featured, Sentencing_Featured
Testimony of Virginia C.U.R.E. at the Regional Public Hearings on the Governor’s Proposed 2008-10 Biennial State Budget
January 9, 2009
The Honorable Lacey E. Putney
Chairman, House Appropriations Committee
P.O. Box 406
General Assembly Building
Richmond, Virginia 23218
The Honorable Charles J. Colgan
Chairman, Senate Finance Committee
10th Floor
General Assembly Building
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Dear Chairmen Putney and Colgan:
On behalf of Virginia C.U.R.E, please associate the enclosed written comments with the oral testimony of C.U.R.E. members at your regional public hearings on the Governor’s proposed 2008-10 biennial state budget. These comments provide a more detailed explanation of our concerns about the priorities reflected in the proposed budget.
Because most of Virginia C.U.R.E.’s testimony addresses the budget proposals for the Commonwealth’s public safety agencies, we are also providing copies of these written comments to the chairmen of your respective Public Safety Subcommittees.
Thank you very … Read entire article »
Filed under: Expenditures_Featured, Recommendations
Budget Recommendations from Virginia CURE
Tighten Virginia’s Budget Wisely
Try Less Costly Alternatives to Prison Expansion
Use Savings for Education, Medicaid, Highways & Infrastructure
Despite tight budgets cutting education, healthcare, highways, and infrastructure, and with already high use of prisons, projections call for Virginia bypassing less costly alternatives in order to build more expensive, but likely less successful, prisons. This proposes a ten-year recess in prison building, and instead reduce Virginia’s prison population (including from local jails) within three years to existing capacity, by implementing less costly, proven and promising non-prison alternatives –
… Read entire article »Filed under: Expenditures, Recommendations