EDIT: Plausible proposals made

Gov. Mitt Romney announced a number of plausible crime prevention proposals on Monday after he received recommendations from a Romney task force that released its findings on ways to prevent crime in Massachusetts.

All of the recommendations sound reasonable and the committee did an excellent job of addressing areas in which problems have arisen in the past. The suggestions include such ideas as more information-sharing among state and local agencies, better communication between a number of areas of police work, including forensics, and a mandatory parole system for all released prisoners.

Communication problems between different agencies have been blamed for some of the problems that led up to Sept. 11, and the committee was right to address the issue at a state level. Increased communication in general is a much-needed change and the recommendations demonstrate an awareness of that issue. The state medical examiner’s office also fell under the limelight earlier this year after it was blamed with losing body parts and misidentifying a number of victims. The committee’s decision to recommend increased communication – specifically in the area of forensics – demonstrates an awareness of current problems.

The recommendation to implement a mandatory parole system to help released inmates re-enter the outside world was an excellent recommendation and a huge step forward. President George W. Bush specifically mentioned increasing programs for released inmates in his State of the Union address, demonstrating the importance of the issue. And Romney’s committee made an excellent decision in addressing the matter head on. Prisoner re-entry is a huge problem in the United States because it is an extremely difficult transition for many inmates to make – especially for those who have been imprisoned for a number of years. By implementing a program specifically designed to help inmates re-enter the world, both the inmates and the community will benefit. The program will help prevent further crime, which repeat offenders often commit. Numerous studies show that repeat offenders are a major crime problem and the probation idea could help change that. Fifteen years ago, such a recommendation would have been considered soft on crime, but it is great to see that Romney is taking the approach seriously.

The committee has done an excellent job in sorting through current programs that are not necessarily effective and making recommendations that are plausible and should have a more direct impact. While its recommendations have not been made in time to be considered for Romney’s 2005 budget, the recommendations have been made in a timely manner that will allow Romney to consider moving funds to cover them in 2006.