Ask Your State Attorney to Support SB 504 or the Enhancing Public Safety Through Rehabilitation in Prisons Bill Now

Florida spends $2.7 billion per year on a prison system that even the Florida Department of Correction says is in crisis. Rather than trying to rely on this broken system to address mental health, poverty, and drug use, Florida should make the wiser decision to promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism.

The Florida Senate’s Enhancing Public Safety Through Rehabilitation in Prisons bill, or Senate Bill 504, will incentivize rehabilitation in prison, by encouraging people who are incarcerated to participate in education and training programs in order to earn additional time off their sentence. The current statute provides little incentive for incarcerated people to participate in these programs.

Evidence shows that programs that provide people who are incarcerated with education, mental health resources, drug rehabilitation, and vocational training help lower recidivism rates. According to a 2013 study, individuals who are incarcerated who participated in one of these programs were 43 percent less likely to reoffend.

Florida has fallen behind neighboring states in providing rehabilitative resources, educational programming, or offering any kind of incentive to participate in these vital programs. That’s why we’re calling on state attorneys in Alachua, Broward, Duval, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Orange and Osceola Counties to support SB 504 to bring our state up to speed. We need their voices now to encourage rehabilitation in prison, save taxpayer money, reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and reunite families.

TAKE ACTION NOW: Contact your state attorney and ask them to support SB 504.

Message Recipients: State Attorney Bruce Bartlett

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Your Message
Use the form to send a message to your legislator.

As a Floridian and your constituent, I am deeply concerned about the lack of incentive to participate in rehabilitative and education programs for currently incarcerated people.

Under our current outdated statutes, there is little incentive for individuals to turn their lives around in prison and not enough educational and vocational programming available to help them gain the tools they need to thrive once released. Senate Bill 504 will encourage rehabilitation in prison, save taxpayer money, reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and reunite families.

I urge you to take action and support SB 504.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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