Community Cooperation Needed for Lower Crime/Recidivism

In a great piece this week in the Post Bulletin, staff writer Christine Beech takes some time to reflect on crime rates, what’s needed to reduce them, and the broken system in general. While she acknowledges punishment for criminal behavior is necessary, she makes a good argument for everyone to get involved in helping reintegrate the members of society who may have gone astray of the law.

The article points out that the recidivism rate in Olmstead County is 47%. This is pretty dramatic and shows that perhaps the resources aren’t there to help people steer clear of a life of crime. While the common answer to this is more police, that doesn’t always have the positive effects people think it will.

Beech argues that “we can agree the legal system is underfunded”, but I wonder how much of this has to do with “underfunding” and how much has to do with a system that simply needs to be drastically cut back. By prosecuting every law violation and being heavy handed when it comes to jail sentences, the system isn’t only boosting expenses but creating a cycle of institutionalization—driving more and more people into the courts.

Rather than funding the system more, preventing crime and resolving those cases already in the system with more therapeutic measures could potentially help. While rehabilitative corrections is often seen as “coddling” from the tough-on-crime folks, it has been shown to be far more effective at decreasing recidivism than jail sentences and incapacitation.

If you’re facing criminal charges, you can be sure that the prosecution will try to see you convicted of the most serious charge possible. If the evidence isn’t there, however, they will likely be willing to bargain. And that’s where a defense attorney’s help can come in handy.

As someone facing criminal charges, you don’t want to go to jail. And honestly, it’s in the community’s best interest if you don’t. As Beech points out in her editorial “If former criminals succeed in changing their path, we all win.”

Finding an alternative to jail when you are up against criminal charges isn’t always that difficult. Depending on the charges against you and your criminal history, there’s a good chance you could get probation instead or even have the charges dropped altogether.

Once you have been brought into the criminal justice system, it can be difficult to get out. With each charge getting you a tougher and tougher sentence and each addition to your record making it harder to get employment, it’s no wonder the recidivism rate is so high.

When you are up against drug charges or even an assault, you need a defense attorney in MN willing to work on keeping you out of this vicious cycle. Contact us today for a free case evaluation on any Minnesota criminal charges you face.