The Alaska Dispatch News reported that the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission has released recommendations on how to curb the state’s overly populated prison system. The Commission was aided by Pew Charitable Trusts
in drawing up the plans.
According to the Dispatch News, besides collecting data to measure the effectiveness of new laws and policies, and installing an oversight council, the recommendations include:
Expanding the use of citations in place of arrests for low-level, nonviolent offenses.
Deciding whether to release someone before trial based on the likelihood they’ll return for subsequent hearings or commit other crimes, instead of on their ability to pay a monetary bond. A review of court files showed the majority of cases required some type of monetary bond and "52 percent of sampled defendants were detained for the entirety of their pretrial period," the report says.
Focusing resources on high-risk defendants -- those who are “most likely to fail” or reoffend, the report says. More restrictive release conditions would be reserved for these offenders.
Limiting the use of prison space for low-level misdemeanor offenders by reclassifying some misdemeanors and violations, including changing disorderly conduct laws to allow for arrests but limit jail time to 24 hours, among other changes, the report says.
Revising drug penalties to focus the most severe punishments on serious drug crimes. Among the specific actions recommended, lawmakers are encouraged to reclassify the simple possession of heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine as a misdemeanor.
Implementing a specialty parole option for long-term, geriatric inmates.
Incentivizing treatment for sex offenders with sentence reductions for completing treatment.
Read the full Alaska Dispatch News article here.
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