The War on Drugs Isn't Working

The U.S tough on Crime agenda is slowly being reversed. Amid major Budget deficit the state's are seeing the true cost of putting people for minor offences in jail. California of course the prime example of how tough on crime agenda doesn't at all help you balance a budget or for that matter reduce crime. Prisons for the 2008 fiscal year  of California  cost 10 billion. Interesting.. Harper wants to spend 10 billion on just Prisons alone.  Canada has lower crime rates we don't need new prisons, and we don't need large sentences for small offenders. Harper is trying to impose minimum sentences for crimes something the state's have realized hasn't worked and now 12 states have repealed including Rhode Island which has completely abolished minimum sentences. We need to have Prisons for the major offenders. Currently are prisons are over crowded a little, and yes we should  be building new Prisons to accommodate a natural increase in prison population (as the Canadian population increases the number of crimes increases but crime rates can still be lower), but we should look to stop wasting Prison space for minor offenders that because we make them stay for prison a long time they will just re offend . In Canada we have a very low re offending rate and Harper wants to take us back to the war on drug says of the U.S. By building Mega prisons and minimum sentences.  I wonder how it's going to turn Out.......
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