Policy Integrity sent our report, Balanced Justice, to United States Sentencing Commission in response to its call for public comments on possible priority issues for forthcoming amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines. The guidelines are used to set a uniform sentencing policy for individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious misdemeanors.
We hope to highlight with our submission the ability of applying cost-benefit analysis to criminal justice policy to reveal areas of improvement that can save billions of taxpayer dollars without compromising public safety. The report draws attention to some state initiatives that cost less than incarceration and whose future benefits can dwarf the administrative costs of implementing new criminal justice programs.