As session closes in on the finish line, legislators have a great opportunity to deliver another win for Arizonans by passing Senate Bill 1064 to improve safety through earned second chances.

Arizona’s criminal justice system is not perfect. There is always room for improvement in any system, and I and other prosecutors remain willing to engage in productive discussions and initiatives to improve criminal justice system outcomes for crime victims, the public we serve, and defendants to reduce recidivism.

What if we provided substance abuse treatment from the point of admission, and cognitive behavioral treatment? What if we just started with drug possession offenders? Re-entry programs are showing significant promise in reducing recidivism and so are diversion and deferred prosecution programs utilizing substance abuse treatment and cognitive behavioral therapies. We should be implementing similar programs over the duration of an inmate’s incarceration.

Ultimately, we will never achieve meaningful sentencing reform in Arizona with both sides bashing the other and making “straw dog” arguments based on false mischaracterization of the other’s positions. Instead, we must take baby steps and then measure results as they inform public safety, in much the same way that the recently released APAAC report undertook its detailed and valuable account of recidivism in all categories of offenses. Knowing which categories of offenders recidivate least often can suggest sentencing reductions that are plausible and realistic.

For Arizona, the bottom line is that the prison population will continue to be reduced by additional changes and the state will save a substantial amount of money over the next several years instead of continuing to increase spending without benefitting public safety. Isn’t it worth taking the extra step and reinstituting the reinvestment portion of the legislation? It will only add to the positive results we’ve already attained.

The Capitol Times caught up with the governor the Friday before session started to discuss his priorities and preview the next few months.

Gov. Doug Ducey wants to expand employment centers for soon-to-be-released prisoners and give them identification cards before they leave state custody.

The governor also said the state will restore cuts made during the Great Recession to formula funding for K-12 schools, but details on how much money and where it will come from won’t be known until the governor releases his budget on Friday.

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.

Arizona is joining more than two dozen other states to give convicted felons a foot in the door for employment.