New Jersey lawmakers who have recently approved legislation raising penalties for a range of crimes — including car thefts, certain burglaries, and assaults involving bodily fluids — were reaching for “antiquated, outdated policies instead of proven solutions,” Fajardo said.
Boosting education funding, housing availability, and mental health treatment options would do more to reduce crime, she said.
Reducing poverty would also help cut crime by eliminating the financial need that drives some to commit theft, said Ashanti Jones, a policy analyst in the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice’s criminal justice reform program.
“We have to recognize that when we’re talking about theft here, we’re talking about poverty, and in some shape or form, we have to address that. That’s not to say accountability is out of the question,” she said. “We have to think about what will actually solve the problem: How can we get crime to go down? Increasing penalties doesn’t do that.”
The bill contains other provisions meant to reduce gift card scams. It would require retailers that carry gift cards to train their workers on how to spot attempts at fraud involving gift cards and post notices highlighting the risk of such scams.