Another Poll Shows Public Favor For Prison Reform

A coalition of drug treatment advocates, the Closing the Addiction Treatment Gap project, released the results of an early February poll conducted by Oakleaf and Associates that shows strong public support for the concept of prison reform in Arkansas.

The results mirror a poll question recently conducted by Talk Business.

The Oakleaf poll, which was conducted among 402 Arkansans and has a margin of error of +/-5%, asked:

Q: Would you favor or oppose reducing prison time for people convicted of non-violent crimes and reinvesting some of the savings to create a stronger probation and parole system that includes programs for preventing and treating substance abuse?

58%  Strongly favor
23%  Somewhat favor
6%   Somewhat oppose
7%   Strongly oppose
5%   Don’t know

The Talk Business Poll asked:

Q: Due to prison population problems, Arkansas is considering changing its drug laws to place heavier penalties on those involved with the drug trade, lesser penalties on those who only use or possess drugs, and provide treatment to low-level drug offenders. An alternative is to build more prisons. What do you think lawmakers should do?

56%    Alter penalties to free up prison space
26%    Build more prisons
18%    Don’t Know

The Oakleaf poll asks other questions regarding sentencing changes, drug treatment and counseling, and drug courts for probation. All of the results showed overwhelming support for the changes.

You can access the full poll at this link.