I have supported various efforts to reduce crime by targeting violent crime in our schools, reforming the juvenile justice system, cracking down on the sale and use of illegal drugs, giving police and prosecutors more tools and resources to fight crime, banning gambling on collegiate and Olympic sporting events. In addition, I have been concerned about violence in the media as a contributing factor to youth violence. The Internet in particular has been used by cyber-molesters in preying on unsuspecting children.

After an alarming increase in juvenile crime rates in the 1980's, the implementation of innovative juvenile crime control strategies across the country has resulted in a decrease in juvenile crime. To continue these downward trends in juvenile crime rates into the 21st century, fundamental reforms of the juvenile justice system must be made now by providing states like Kansas the necessary flexibility to respond to specific criminal justice concerns.

It is important for Congress to help make sure that the men and women on our police forces have the resources they need to fight crime in their communities. Since passage of the Community Oriented Police Support (COPS) program, we have worked with local Kansas law enforcement agencies to build partnerships with their communities and develop the infrastructure needed to sustain community policing efforts. more

We have an incredible opportunity to reshape the way in which our nation fights poverty and provides hope to those in great need in our society by significantly and substantively reforming our prison system to break the cycle of recidivism.

Today, it is more likely than ever that a person released from prison will be rearrested—two-thirds of state prisoners are rearrested within three years of release.

Recidivism is costly, in both personal and financial terms. Consider: American taxpayers spent approximately $9 billion per year on corrections in 1982 and in 2002 they spent $60 billion.

A recent study found that children of prisoners are five times as likely to be incarcerated later in life as a child who has not had a parent incarcerated. Fifty-five percent (55%) of prisoners have children under the age of 18 and tragically, more than seven million children can claim a parent in prison, in jail, under parole, or under probation supervision.

We must stop subsidizing programs that do not work and that lead, in turn, to negative behavior. That is why I co-authored the Recidivism Reduction and the Second Chance act of 2007 a bill that facilitates change within our current correctional system, and promotes coordination with the federal government to better assist those returning to our communities after incarceration and their children.