Webb’s Bipartisan National Criminal Justice Commission Act
Receives Support from 34 Cosponsors, Engages 100+ Organizations

Bill to comprehensively review, overhaul U.S. criminal justice system
 will receive mark-up in Judiciary Committee Thursday

Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today provided a progress report on his National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, which has gained the bipartisan support of 34 members of the Senate and engaged dozens of organizations representing a broad spectrum of the criminal justice community. Webb’s bill, which would create a blue-ribbon commission charged with comprehensively reviewing the nation’s criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform, will receive a mark up in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

Said Webb: “We have engaged in a dialogue with more than 100 organizations as diverse as the Heritage Foundation, the Sentencing Project, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the CATO Institute, the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union, American Correctional Association, the Prison Fellowship, the American Probation and Parole Association, and many other stakeholders across the political spectrum.  We have listened, and we have incorporated many suggested modifications to the bill.”

Among the modifications, the Commission has additionally been tasked with identifying effective practices in reducing crime and assisting victims; decreasing, where possible, racial, ethnic, and gender disparities; and helping law enforcement address the challenges stemming from combating terrorism and promoting homeland security. The number of commissioners was also increased to ensure better representation of state and local government.

Webb, who introduced the bill in Congress on March 26, underscored the importance of his legislation on the Senate floor: “Despite the unprecedented number of people we have in prisons and jails, Americans report an increased fear of crime.  76% of Americans report being afraid that crime is on the rise,” he said. “Bringing this expertise to bear reflects the broader need to shift criminal justice decision-making in our country away from ideology and fear, and toward what is fair and what keeps us safe.” 


A copy of Senator Webb’s floor speech follows.


National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009
Senate Floor Speech of Senator Jim Webb
November 3, 2009

I am pleased today to give a progress report on the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, the goal of which is to create a blue ribbon, national commission to take a long overdue, comprehensive look at our criminal justice system. 

This week, the Judiciary Committee will consider the bill.  Mark-up would not be taking place without the support of Chairman Leahy, Senator Hatch, Senator Graham, Senator Durbin, and Senator Specter, all of whom have championed this bill. 

I would like to start today by revisiting the problem that drove this legislation.  I don’t think that a lot of Americans are aware of the fact that we have 5% of the world's population, but we have 25% of the world's known prison population. 

When I wrote about the Japanese prison system twenty-five years ago Japan, with half our population, had only 40,000 sentenced prisoners and we had 580,000.  Today, we have 2.38 million prisoners in our criminal justice system and another five million people on probation or parole.

Despite the unprecedented number of people we have in prisons and jails, Americans report an increased fear of crime.  76% of Americans report being afraid that crime is on the rise.

I believe this fear is driven by two factors, both of which speak to the need for this commission. 

First, we’re locking up too many people whose transgressions could have been dealt with in more creative ways.  As a result, we have hundreds of thousands of people who are being released from prison each year and are reentering American society without the kind of structured programs that would allow them to again become productive citizens.

Second, gangs in America have grown in size and impact, including sophisticated, transnational cartels, operating in cities across America.  Mexican drug cartels are operating in at least 230 American cities, not simply along the border.  The incidents on the border illuminate the severity of this problem, but the problems extend over the border.  Nor is this simply a problem with Mexican gangs.  Gangs commit 80% of the crimes in some areas and are heavily involved in drug distribution and violent activities.

The gang violence affecting so many communities speaks to the need to make sure we lock up the right people – that law enforcement has the resources and polices they need to lock up violent criminals.  The hundreds of thousands of men and women leaving prisons and jails to return to our communities speaks volumes to our need to re-examine the availability of and support for community corrections programs, including re-entry programs, and probation and parole policies. 

Once we started talking about these issues over the last year we started being contacted from people all across the country -- people from every different aspect of the political and the philosophical areas that come into play when we talk about incarceration.  It is a very emotional issue. I heard from Justice Kennedy of the Supreme Court, from prosecutors, judges, defense lawyers, former offenders, people in prison, and police on the street. 

There are many good pieces of legislation introduced in the Congress to address different pieces of this, but after going through this process over the past year, I am even more convinced that the only way to address the systemic problems we face is through a national commission that will examine all of these pieces together and make specific findings. 

We have to look at all pieces of the criminal justice policy.  As former LA Police Chief William Bratton noted in his testimony in support of this commission:

“Our problems are systemic, widespread, and growing, and only a singularly focused blue ribbon commission comprised of informed practitioners, scholars, policy makers and civil rights activists can adequately address the calculated formation of intervention and prevention strategies.  Formation of this important commission is a major and essential step in the right direction.”

I introduced National Criminal Justice Commission Act on the floor on March 26, 2009.  The criminal justice commission would examine all of the elements involved in criminal justice in those specific areas and then be voted upon by the Congress. 

When this legislation becomes law, the first step for the Commission will be to address a series of specific factual findings, and then to recommend policy changes.

Bringing this expertise to bear reflects the broader need to shift criminal justice decision-making in our country away from ideology and fear, and toward what is fair and what keeps us safe. 

Here are the challenges facing the commission:

•    Identify the reasons for the increase in our incarceration rate as compared to historical standards.
•    Compare incarceration and other criminal justice policies in similar democratic, western countries.
•    Examine prison administration policies, including the availability of pre-employment training programs and career progression.
•    Determine the costs of current incarceration policies at the federal, state, and local levels.
•    Identify the impact of gang activities, including foreign syndicates.
•    Review our drug policy and its impact on incarceration, crime and sentencing.
•    Examine current policies as they related to the mentally ill.

The commission will bring the greatest minds in our country together with a specific timeline to make specific findings and give recommendations regarding our criminal justice system.  

Since that time, we have had the good fortune of gaining the support of 35 members of the Senate.

We have also engaged in a dialogue with more than 100 organizations as diverse as the Heritage Foundation, the Sentencing Project, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the CATO Institute, the NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union, American Correctional Association, the Prison Fellowship, the American Probation and Parole Association, and many others across the political spectrum.

We have listened, and we have incorporated many suggested modifications to the bill.

For example, in the initial findings of the bill, we incorporated the number of crime victims, advances in policing, decreases in violent crime and property crime, and the protection of civil rights and liberties. 

In the findings to be made by the Commission, we added an examination of changes to policing as a result of 9/11, the costs and benefits of prevention and diversion programs, and an examination of the availability of reentry programs.

In the recommendations to be made by the Commission, we added requests for the Commission to:

•    identify effective practices in reducing crime and assisting victims;
•    decrease, where possible, racial, ethnic, and gender disparities; and
•    help law enforcement address the challenges stemming from combating terrorism and promoting homeland security.

We have also expanded the number of commission members to ensure better representation of state and local government.

I am pleased to report that through the course of these many meetings through the spring, summer, and fall, we found a consensus in support of a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system. 

In closing, I would again like to thank the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for helping move this bill forward.