Smart on Crime, by Kamala Harris: on Crime

Kamala Harris: Treat crime economically: most safety for the investment

I believe that in the criminal justice system notions such as supply and demand, input and output, and looking for patterns are not abstract concepts. They tell us a lot about the effectiveness of what we're doing. When you measure, you can see quite clearly the results of making particular adjustments to complex systems. And we can apply the logic and principles of economics to fight against crime. It is crucial to ask how we can achieve the most safety for the lowest cost. We have spent billions of dollars on ineffective solutions that have not delivered the safety we must demand.

And today, more urgently than ever, I think all Americans want to spend our limited resources on those things that will deliver the most safety for the investment.

Kamala Harris: Smart on Crime: focus on violence, youth, & prevention

1. maintain a relentless and intense focus on violence and the prosecution of violent criminals;
2. identify key points in the lives of young offenders and stop them from continuing and escalating their criminal behavior;
3. and support victims of crime and, in the process, foster crime prevention.

Kamala Harris: Crime pyramid: nonviolent offender isn't hardened criminal

The problem is that we have been using only the tools best suited to combatting the offenders at the top of the pyramid, and we have been using them on the entire crime pyramid. Most nonviolent offenders are learning the wrong lesson, and in many cases, they are becoming better and more hardened criminals during their prison stays.

It's time to rock the crime pyramid.

These lower-in-the-pyramid offenders often have no job skills, and far more often than not are addicted to drugs. We quite appropriately arrest them when they offend and re-offend, but then we warehouse them in jails, which pushes them deeper into the grip of gangs and the culture of hardened criminals.