The Right On Crime Podcast launched its inaugural episode with the introduction of its newest campaign, The Correctional Leadership Network, a dynamic group of corrections professionals and thought leaders sharing best practices and expertise in criminal justice policy.
Right On Crime’s Correctional Leadership Network amplifies the voice of corrections experts from across the country in the reform debate around criminal justice policy. These stakeholders are best positioned to speak to the efficacy of rehabilitation toward recidivism reduction and achieving public safety.
Episode One featured host, Scott Peyton, Right On Crime’s Correctional Director; Tony Parker, Former Commissioner of Tennessee Department of Corrections and President of the American Correctional Association; Bryan Stirling, Director of South Carolina Department of Corrections; and Solomon Graves, Secretary of Arkansa Department of Corrections.
“Every day we read the headlines, or watch the news, about rising crime – communities fearing for their safety and politicians offering emotional, knee-jerk policies. There’s no doubt that violent criminals must be held to account. And our prisons- already overcrowded and short-staffed- must make room and prepare those in their custody for the day they return to society. Eventually, 95% will return,” said Peyton. “The good & bad of criminal justice policies ultimately come to roost at DOC’s across the nation.”
“It’s easy to get elected on a tough on crime mantra. But we have to be smart on crime. We have to know the resources and what these policies do at the end of the day. Once these people are released, that’s what we should be focused on,” said Parker.
“Meritorious good time is one of the most effective tools we have to incentivize good behavior… One of the most dangerous things you can have is someone in a correctional setting that has no incentive to follow the rules,” said Graves.
“These ideas are really a conservative approach, because we’re letting people earn the tools that will make them successful and not rely on the government,” said Stirling.
Through policy discussions, advocacy, podcasts, and events across the nation with state correctional leaders, Right On Crime’s Correctional Leadership Network will ensure that correctional expertise is properly weighed in national debate around criminal justice policy with the ultimate goal to support public safety.