Pubdate: Fri, 14 Dec 2007
Source: Record, The (Hackensack, NJ)
Copyright: 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
Contact:  http://www.northjersey.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/44
Author: Lawrence Aaron

SMALLER DRUG ZONES ONLY FAIR

WITH ALL the potential criminal justice reforms being  announced in
recent months, it looks like there's some  sort of tailwind driving
the ship of state toward more  realistic processing of felony offenders.

Retroactive sentence reductions are being sought to  address
sentencing disparity for crack cocaine versus  powder cocaine. Also at
the national level, passage of  the Second Chance Act would provide
money for states to  coordinate reentry programs for
ex-offenders.

At the state level, recommendations were made to expand  eligibility
requirements for the drug courts, proven  successful at salvaging
wasted lives and diverting  thousands from prison. In addition to
those advances,  Governor Corzine's administration and Newark's mayor
promised thoughtful programs to redirect the paths of
recidivists.

An attempt to redefine the school drug zone law is one  proposal aimed
at plugging a hole that swallows up many  New Jersey defendants. Under
the present school zone  law, penalties for distribution of drugs are
more  severe within 1,000 feet of a school.

A welcome reform effort

The push to reduce the drug zone to 200 feet and  stiffen the penalty
in that smaller area is a  particularly welcome reform effort in New
Jersey, the  state with the highest incarceration rate for drug
offenses in the nation.

Drug zones are among the most unjust aspects of the  criminal justice
system because of the heavy impact on  urban communities.
African-Americans and Latinos  represent 96 percent of the convictions
under the  school zone law. Penalties are more severe for urban  drug
offenders than for residents of suburbs, where few  schools are placed
close to one another. With schools  situated close together, virtually
every drug offense  becomes a violation of school drug zone law.

Because cities are so densely populated, school drug  zones overlap,
meaning just about anywhere a drug  transaction takes place, a more
severe penalty is  imposed. The result is considerably more jail time.

Endorsing a plan to reduce the school zone last week,  Governor
Corzine heaped praise upon his newly created  Government Efficiency
and Reform Commission for  agreeing that a reduced-size drug zone is
appropriate.  What's to praise? The group is only echoing
recommendations already made at the end of 2005 by the  state's
Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing.

Timetable needed

There's little harm in self-congratulation, but it  would be more
productive to generate some sort of  timetable, along with benchmarks
that demonstrate  criminal justice reform is more than a photo-op.
Policy  reforms progress sluggishly through the legislative  process
as it is, partly because "soft on crime" is a  label elected officials
seek to avoid.

The commission moved at a slow and deliberate pace even  when it was
staffed. In spite of having no staff at all  now, Chairman Barnett
Hoffman is counting on the  Legislature to recognize the commission's
value and  make it permanent.

Looking progressive on the issue of prison reform is as  easy as
calling a press conference. That's a good  strategy if all the
administration wants is the  appearance of progress. But for real
change, something  else is needed. Start with better program
coordination.  Beef up prison literacy, education and GED programs.
Then move on to improving prisoner reentry by adopting  the
comprehensive support systems so effective in drug  courts.

Counseling programs and treatment for addiction are  sparse, when in
reality they are just as important as  getting a job and a place to
live. Return to the  neighborhood with no prospects ensures a
continued  cycle of recidivism.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker's heavily promoted reentry  program is also
foundering. It was adopted as the  answer for many of the tough issues
facing released  felons in New Jersey's largest city. Booker's plan is
  plagued by the usual suspects -- funding, legislation  and not enough
job offers for ex-offenders.

With all the fervor for prison reform, laying the  statistical and
theoretical foundation is the only way  to get state legislators to go
along. But at the  present pace, with so many of the moving parts
still  not in sync, the prison population won't shrink fast  enough to
make even a dent in the state's  billion-dollar prison budget.
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