By David Cruz
Correspondent
Gov. Chris Christie made a brief return to Jersey today to deliver a speech on criminal justice reform. In Camden, which the governor has repeatedly highlighted as a place where his policies have borne fruit, he promised to be tough on crime but sensitive to the conditions that lead to it.
“There but for the grace of God go I,” he told an audience at the Roberto Clemente. “Everyone. Everyone in this room. Everyone in this country has made bad choices in their lives. But most of us have been lucky enough that our failings haven’t taken us down the road of addiction.”
And to the extent that almost half of the men and women in prison today are there for drug-related offenses, the governor said it was time to realize that the cycle of addiction to arrest to incarceration has filled our prisons but failed to help society, or those seen to be anti-social.
“Every year more than 650,000 Americans leave those prisons, but, according to federal estimates, two-thirds of them are back behind bars,” he added. “Our correctional system in America apparently isn’t correcting all that much.”
The governor outlined his ideas on policing — more community cops. He pointed to what he says is record-breaking success in Camden with more cops walking, hosting block parties and sports events. On prisons, the governor proposes expansion of drug courts and treatment over incarceration.
“We want people to become productive members of society and to go home and to become, once again, a part of their family,” said Christie. “That’s not just good policy. It’s the right thing to do for our country and it’s what a compassionate God commands all of us to do.”
Christie pitched bail reform, giving judges more leeway on revoking bail for violent offenders and waiving bail for non-violent crimes. He also pitched the idea of requiring inmates to get a GED while inside and partnering with colleges to help inmates prepare to continue their education when they get outside.
These ideas are not new or unique to Christie. Lawmakers as diverse as Rand Paul and Cory Booker have been discussing them recently. President Obama was talking about much the same thing today when he visited a prison in Oklahoma. It’s a rare issue where Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground, for the most part.
Asked if he and President Obama were on the same page on this issue, the governor replied, “I don’t know. I’ll have to hear what he says. We’re certainly not on the same page on Iran, so I don’t know.”
Today was part of a series of policy speeches the governor will give in the coming weeks, including a talk on immigration expected later this summer, as he tries to make the point that he’s the Republican in the race who’s not afraid to bore you with the details, whether you ask for them, or not.