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I saw this story about CA governor Arnold Schwarzenegger calling for a “Schools not Prisons” politics on the NYT site and thought it warranted a post. Unfortunately, I’m cramming for Saturday’s Friends of Justice Board meeting and a Sunday preaching opportunity and don’t have time for reflection. Fortunately, Baylor law professor Mark Osler has addressed the issues over at Osler’s Razor and raises some provocative issues.
Political Mayhem Thursday: Schools or Prisons?
Lame-duck California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger is supporting a Constitutional amendment in that state which would require that the state spend more money every year on universities than it does on prisons.
I think it is an intriguing idea.
First, though, we have to acknowledge that incarcerating a lot of people is probably going to reduce crime, even if we just incarcerate people at random– there simply will be fewer people on the street to commit crimes. Incarcerating a large part of the population does reduce crime.
However, incarcerating a lot of people is an expensive way to achieve what may be a minor result. The better we target the people who really create crime– the key men– the more efficient the system and the fewer people we need to incarcerate to obtain a given result. Of course, for this to happen, we must acknowledge one over-riding goal in criminal justice: To incapacitate the key men. It would be unusual to find that kind of political discipline.
Still, I would love it if we could try, and as a result give more money to universities than we do to prisons.
What do you think?
-Mark Osler
Friends of Justice 
good morning: it would be rude of me to say that the war on drugs is a farce. oops. on one side you have the profit made on the judicial end and the other side profits from the cartels czars and street dealers who, lucratively, present awesome bribes. “locators” are just not there because of the enormous team players.
universities are not institutions designed for reducing crimnal activity, that task is supposed to be handled by law enforcement. things are so twisted and bogged down in ‘this appeal, that appeal’ which only introduces more chaos into america’s, already troubled, society.
drug dealers have to have a consumer. therefore to rid america of the dealers cure the consumers. SPEND THE MONEY REHABILITATING USERS. not just with a twelve step program but job training skills and eventually job placement. the “political pimps” want schools to do too much while they continue to exploit tax payers for more money to use as they choose. for instance the governor here said he wanted to approve 121 million dollars to give to the rotary club for polio. is your mouth wide open with a quizzical look on your face? my point is:
CURE THE ADDICT AND YOU DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONES THAT SPAWNED THE ADDICTIONS IN THE FIRST DAM PLACE.
you and i would ,both, be standing with our mouths wide open if we walked in a post office and saw the posters from one end of the hall to another even on the ceiling and stairwells, even outside on the columns of the MANY who the FBI should have on their MOST WANTED LISTS. you know. love of money, you know, that you know.