A lingering “tough-on-crime” mentality in Arizona is hampering efforts to reconstruct the state’s criminal justice system.

Earlier this week, Gov. Doug Ducey stood before a remarkable assembly of lawmakers from the majority and minority caucuses and stakeholders from corrections, faith communities, law enforcement, treatment agencies, and all points in between as he called a special session to address the opioid addiction crisis in Arizona.

Democratic lawmakers from south Phoenix are siding with their voters in a fight against two proposed programs aimed at helping prisoners re-enter society, a long held constituency of theirs that doesn’t vote.

The Arizona Department of Corrections wants 102 new positions and more than $13 million to fuel re-entry and recidivism reduction programs, but prisoner rights advocates aren’t convinced the request signals a turn in the department’s philosophy.

The Ducey administration is considering a “ban the box” policy for state agencies that would delay the process of asking prospective employees for arrest or conviction information until later in the hiring process.

The Arizona State Retirement System has invested in the country’s largest private prison operators, which also hold state contracts.

The latest update to the Prisoners in Arizona report, produced by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council, or APAAC, is scheduled to be finished this fall, and it promises to be more controversial than ever thanks to the man hired to update it, John Lott.

More than one-fifth of Arizona prisoners are serving time for drug offenses, according to a new report from a justice reform group.

Caroline Isaacs knows how to harmonize. Whether it’s striking the right chord on criminal justice reform at the Capitol or belting out with her band, Sundust Road, in Tucson, Isaacs gets the job done.

The “tough-on-crime” trend is fading fast even in red state strongholds like Arizona. In its wake, a new movement has formed under a far more millennial catchphrase: smart on crime.