Politics didn’t stop progress

The Baltimore Sun had the following article on April 12, 2016:

Criminal justice

“During the last year, lawmakers from both parties, the Hogan administration, Attorney General Brian Frosh, members of the judiciary and others worked with researchers from the Pew Charitable Trusts to deeply analyze Maryland’s criminal justice system to determine what policies and practices were effective in increasing public safety and which ones were wasteful. As was the case in the two dozen other states that have engaged in a similar process, the group found plenty of the latter and came up with a consensus list of recommendations that Pew estimated would save about $250 million over 10 years, funds that would be reinvested in proven strategies to prevent crime and reduce recidivism. Despite some tense moments, the legislation passed. The final form is weaker than the original proposal in some ways and arguably stronger in some others. It represents a solid first step. In the years ahead, we hope Maryland’s experience with it will prove the value of the approach and give some skeptics more comfort with additional reforms.”