Colorado Recidivism Reform Paradox
Reforms cut returns to prison while a crime debate raged.
C · 15/24
1 · The idealist case (in its proponents' own framing)
Shorten supervision and divert to cut reincarceration.
2 · The realist counter-case
Critics tie reforms to rising crime.
3 · Predicted vs. measured — with caveats
SB15-124/SB19-143: 3-year returns fell ~20% and DOC population dropped ~12% (2016-24), but the Common Sense Institute's 'reform paradox' flags rising violent crime; causal link is disputed and confounded.
4 · Liberty check
Less incarceration/expanded liberty vs. contested public-safety claims.
5 · The real tradeoff
Genuinely contested - both sides cite real numbers.
Watch · narrated explainer video
Narrated commentary video (with audio). More on the Video page.
Allies & Playbook
If you want to copy this, start here.
No individual sponsor record is catalogued for this policy yet. Start with the primary sources below and the Allies directory.