OPINION: Florida is safe. Don t ruin it by releasing felons early Grady Judd
Florida’s crime rate is at a historic 49-year low. We are safer now than we have been since we started tracking crime rates in Florida in 1971. That means that the laws on the books, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and prisons – to name a few – have helped make our state safer.
But the anti-cop, pro-prison reform crowd are anxious to release thousands of felons into our neighborhoods. That’s their number one goal. They say it will save taxpayers money, reduce recidivism and lower crime. They call it “reform.” I call it one of the biggest false narratives being promoted today. In truth, the so-called reforms will make us less safe, create more victims and increase crime.
Legislation that died in the session included proposals to allow prison inmates to shorten their sentences if they are pregnant, mothers with small children, elderly or extremely ill. Another measure that wasn’t approved would have made it easier for sex trafficking victims to expunge their criminal records.
Another bill that failed to pass despite bipartisan support would have allowed inmates to reduce their sentences through good behavior credits, or “gain time,” if they completed a high school equivalency diploma, vocational certificate, drug-treatment program, life-skills program or other evidence-based programs helping them reintegrate into society.
“I was upset to see bills dealing with expungement and gain time die,” said Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, who sponsored the gain-time bill (S.B. 1032). “[Legislators] are ready. But you’re competing with so many other bills over a short period of time.”
The outdoor rules make sense following recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations that people can forgo masks outdoors when alone or in small groups due to the virus spreading less easily outdoors.
But the district’s mask policy for the summer and especially the fall could have waited to see whether conditions keep improving. Parents also would have benefited from more information on the council’s recommendations and the process used to make them, given that its meetings are not held in public.
DeSantis’ decision on mask mandates could have waited as well, or better yet, be left to city and county officials. In refusing to take steps such as a statewide mask mandate early in the pandemic, the governor had already deferred much of the responsibility to local officials to protect their populations.
With so much carnage, it is also easy to lose hope. Gun control can seem pointless given the number of guns already on the streets. And here in Florida, lawmakers seem intent on flooding every area of public life with firearms. The Legislature just passed a measure to allow people with concealed weapons licenses to pack heat at churches that share properties with schools, of all places.
Reform-minded Americans shouldn’t give up. But stopping gun violence might require a change in strategy. Instead of gun control, ammo control is another option. The National Rifle Association might have a point when it says that “guns don’t kill people” after all, it’s the bullets they fire that do the damage.