“Taking Stock: Reflections on 50 Years of Crime and Punishment in America”

The title of this post is the title of this notable keynote speech delivered this week by Jeremy Travis at the annual conference of the National Criminal Justice Association. I recommend reading the speech in full, as Travis explains in the introduction that he hopes to “challenge you to think critically about the realities of crime and punishment in America so that you can help our democracy chart a new course to a more just and humane response to crime.” It strikes a notably positive reform tone, and this 14-page document concludes this way:

We have much work ahead of us, but this is the time to embrace an ambitious agenda.  The American system of criminal justice stands at a crossroads. With low crime rates, public support for less punitive responses to crime, and an urgent call from the next generation to do no more harm and embrace the call for racial justice, a window of opportunity has opened.  I can think of no group of justice professionals better equipped to seize this moment.  I believe with all my heart that this is a patriotic calling.  The cause of justice, and the hopes for a vibrant multi-racial democracy, hang in the balance. It may take another fifty years, but now is always the best time to get started.