Voters care about crime. Here’s what lawmakers should do about it.

A public safety-centered policy agenda would abandon the current strategy of imposing draconian sentences on a small fraction of offenders. It would commit to building an accountability infrastructure with the capacity to effectively supervise a much larger set of offenders using swift, certain, and fair sanctions. This means lawmakers should expand HOPE-style probation and 24/7 Sobriety programs. The federal government and states should commit resources toward hiring more probation and parole officers to reduce caseloads and expanding court capacity to adjudicate cases more quickly.