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Back to To the Point

To the Point

Will a Reported Crime Wave Kill Criminal Justice Reform?

Law-and-order Republicans and liberal Democrats agree: federal prisons are overcrowded because tough sentencing laws in the 1990's went too far. Bipartisan criminal-justice reforms have emerged in the House and the Senate, but the pace is slow. Politicians can't survive the charge of being "soft on crime."

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By Warren Olney • Sep 15, 2015 • 32m Listen

Law-and-order Republicans and liberal Democrats agree: federal prisons are overcrowded because tough sentencing laws in the 1990's went too far. Bipartisan criminal-justice reforms have emerged in the House and the Senate, but the pace is slow. Politicians can't survive the charge of being "soft on crime." Now, after decades of declining crime rates, there's a reported increase — especially in homicides. Is it real? Will it put a stop to one of the few measures lawmakers agree on — in a presidential year?

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    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

  • KCRW placeholder

    Sarah Sweeney

    Vice President of Talk Programming, KCRW

  • KCRW placeholder

    Katie Cooper

    Producer, 'One year Later'

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    Jenny Hamel

    KCRW

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    Josh Gerstein

    senior legal affairs reporter, Politico

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    Carl Bialik

    FiveThirtyEight

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    Fred Patrick

    Vera Institute of Justice

    NewsNationalPolitics
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