The Correctional Association's Public Policy Project broadens the base of support for needed policy changes at city and state levels. Activities include coalition building; organizing forums, rallies and lobby days; aggressive press work; educational presentations to community organizations, schools, religious institutions, and policy makers; and publishing and distributing fact sheets and reports.

The current principal goal of the Public Policy Project is repeal of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Currently, more than 15,000 drug offenders are incarcerated in New York State prisons. Research shows that although the majority of drug users and sellers are white, over 92% of people incarcerated under the drug laws are African-American and Latino. It cost New York State almost $1.8 billion to build the prisons to house drug offenders and over $500 million per year in operating expenses.

The Rockefeller Drug Laws have proven ineffective, costly, and racially biased. The Project advocates restoring discretion to trial judges in all drug cases, implementing retroactive review of sentences for prisoners currently incarcerated under the laws, and significantly expanding alternatives to incarceration, including drug treatment, education, and job training.

To promote these objectives, the Project coordinates the broad-based, state-wide Drop the Rock campaign to repeal the drug laws, produces and disseminates position papers and informative materials, maintains a Drop the Rock Web site, organizes forums and rallies, and works with policymakers, press, activists, youth, and the communities most affected by the laws.

The Project has achieved significant success in its efforts: in March 2002, the CA played a lead role in organizing Drop the Rock Day—the state’s biggest criminal justice rally in memory—where nearly 3,000 people traveled to Albany to protest the laws and meet with legislators. Drop the Rock has garnered extensive press coverage and gathered endorsements from nearly 200 prominent individuals and organizations.

In December 2004, New York State policymakers enacted modest amendments to the Rockefeller Drug Laws, reducing prison sentences for most drug offenders and providing retroactivity for a limited number of long-term drug offenders. The main problems caused by the drug laws, however, remain in effect. Prison sentences are still mandatory, meaning that judges cannot fashion penalties that fit the circumstances of the crime. Prison terms, though reduced, remain unduly long, meaning that thousands of minor drug offenders will still be incarcerated for excessive lengths of time. And the main criterion for guilt remains the amount of drugs in a person’s possession at arrest, not a person’s actual role in the drug transaction, meaning that the major profiteers who rarely carry drugs will escape the laws’ sanctions.

Another problem is that the legislature did not include any additional resources for drug treatment and other alternatives to incarceration. Drug treatment is a well-documented success. Fully funded rehabilitation programs not only cost less than imprisonment, they are also much more effective in helping individuals recover from addiction and in reducing the crime associated with the drug trade.

The Correctional Association has decades of experience working for change, a skilled and dedicated staff, and strong working relationships with government leaders, community organizations, and the media. Bolstered by its positive reputation as an advocacy organization and its commitment to justice, the CA is uniquely positioned to continue the effort to achieve significant reform in the drug policy arena.

For more information about the Public Policy Project, please contact Robert Gangi, Executive Director, at 212-254-5700 x305 or email the Correctional Association.