According to a report released by the advocacy group, The Sentencing Project lenient sentencing does not increase crime. The report uses the examples of New York, New Jersey and California to show that moving toward more lenient punishments for non-violent offenders is linked to lower rates of both violent crime and property crime. These states reduced their prison populations by an average of 25% and saw crime drop between 26- 30% when the state average during the same time period increased by 10%.
Click here to read the study.