Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution raising awareness about the criminal justice system and crime awareness month. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill. I find it…
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution raising awareness about the criminal justice system and crime awareness month. I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.
I find it tragic that approximately three million Americans are employed within the justice system. Approximately seven million adults are on probation, parole, or are incarcerated. Many more millions of Americans have been victims of crime and, consequently, lost income, incurred medical expenses, and suffered emotionally.
To be sure there is a high cost of crime to individuals, communities, businesses, and the various levels of government exceeds the billions of dollars spent each year in administering the criminal justice system. It is because of this that I have authored innovative legislation aimed at addressing these problems. For example, in the 110th Congress and again in the 111th Congress, I sponsored the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2009 which addresses the disparity between crack and powder cocaine. The bill is presently numbered H.R. 265.
I also authored H.R. 61, Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2009. Importantly, this bill amends the federal criminal code to direct the Bureau of Prisons to release prisoners who (1) served one half or more of his or her term of imprisonment, (2) obtained at least the age of 45; (3) has never been convicted of a crime of violence; and (4) has not engaged in any violation of institutional disciplinary regulations.
These two pieces of legislation will go far in addressing the problems in the criminal justice system and will go far in educating the masses of Americans about the criminal justice system. Federal, State, and local governments increased their spending for police protection, corrections, judicial, and legal activities in fiscal year 2005 by 5.5 percent or $204 billion. My bills if passed will decrease the amount of money spent on protecting communities and the warehousing of prisoners in the industrial prison complex.
More work needs to be done by Members of Congress. In 2006, fifty percent of Americans admitted they fear that their home would be burglarized when they are not home. Thirty-four percent of American women feared that they would be sexually assaulted and forty-four percent of Americans feared they would be a victim of a terrorist attack.
What is astonishing is that approximately thirty-five percent of Americans have very little or no confidence in the criminal justice system and the negative effects of crime in regard to confidence in governmental agencies and overall social stability are immeasurable.
The reality is that crime rates have dropped since the early 1990s, but most Americans believe that the rate of crime is increasing. Let me share some alarming statistics regarding crime in Houston.
Crime Statistics In Houston
According to Houston Police Department statistics:
Violent crimes
Violent crimes in Houston increased less than 1 percent in
2008 compared with 2007.
Homicides dropped by 16 percent.
The number of homicides dropped from 353 in 2007 to 295
last year.
Sexual assaults increased more than 8 percent from 2007.
Aggravated assaults increased at 9.1 percent.
Domestic violence
Of the 1,092 additional aggravated assault cases in 2008,
more than half were reports of domestic violence.
Nonviolent crimes
Nonviolent crimes declined more than 10 percent in 2008.
Property dropped by more than 10 percent.
Auto thefts decreased last year, dropping more than 21
percent to 15,214, down from 19,465 in 2007.
The bills that I authored are intended to make America a better, fairer place, and are intended to assist families and the incarcerated. They are smart bills that are aimed at making America a safer place and are aimed at lessening the expense of warehousing prisoners and the indiscriminate locking up of prisoners. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and the bills that I sponsored.
