New UCLA Study Shows Prop. 36 Has Saved Californians Millions, Helped Cut Violent Crime

Prop. 36, the drug treatment-instead-of-incarceration initiative approved by California voters in 2000, has saved California taxpayers millions and has contributed to declines in violent crime in California that outpace those in the rest of the nation, according to a just-released UCLA study.

Prop. 36, in a nutshell, says that first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders should get probation and drug treatment rather than being sent to prison.  The new UCLA report (available here (pdf)) notes that Prop. 36 is not without flaws, but also stresses that the effectiveness of the program has been hurt by underfunding and unpredictable funding. The press release notes:

While the Proposition 36 group was more likely to be rearrested, the measure has been a much less expensive alternative to jail or prison time. By reducing incarceration, Proposition 36 has helped save taxpayers about $2 for every $1 invested in the program. To improve Proposition 36's implementation, the report calls for greater use of narcotics-treatment programs, employment assistance and residential treatment, as well as graduated sanctions, ranging from more drug-test requirements to short jail stays, for those participants who fail to comply with the program's provisions.

I have no doubt that in a matter of days this study is going to be used as "evidence" in an op-ed arguing that Proposition 5 on the California ballot, which would further expand drug treatment, is "dangerous" and will not be effective. That argument, however, is one that is being made in a vacuum, with no consideration of the tremendous costs and poor outcomes produced by using the criminal justice system to deal with drugs.

No coherent conversation about these measures can be had without considering the costs of the alternatives, both the financial costs and the costs in terms of damage to human lives. When it comes to Prop. 36, it's clear that the voters were right: if treatment isn't a silver bullet to eliminate drug addiction it's nevertheless a much more productive approach than simply throwing people into prison.