A group in favor of criminal-justice reform in a new report is adding its voice to a chorus of advocates criticizing Arizona's swelling prison population.

FWD.us, a bipartisan political group founded by Silicon Valley leaders, obtained and analyzed inmate data from the Arizona Department of Corrections. The resulting report, "Arizona's Imprisonment Crisis," relies on nearly 500,000 records spanning 30 years.

The group released their findings Tuesday morning, noting the state has the fourth highest imprisonment rate in the nation, behind Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Arizona can enact reforms to reduce incarceration and save taxpayer money while also reducing crime, the group argued.

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"Arizona's imprisonment crisis removes thousands of people from the economy and costs taxpayers more than $1 billion each year (for the state Department of Corrections budget) — preventing the state from investing in other critical priorities like education, social services for families, and child safety," the FWD.us report stated.

If Arizona reduced its incarceration rate to match Utah's, the state could save enough money to cover a 20 percent raise for teachers, the researchers calculated.

The report argues an increase in crime is not driving the expansion of Arizona's prison population. FBI data shows property and violent crimes have decreased in the state by 44 percent and 12 percent respectively since 2000.

The number of people moving to Arizona isn't the primary factor either, the report said.

FWD.us found the state's prison population grew twice as fast as the state's general population between fiscal years 2000 and 2017.

The number of Arizona inmates went from more than 26,000 to roughly 42,000 during that time, the report said, nearly equaling the size of the University of Arizona student body.

Prison sentences for non-violent crimes climb

Among the most serious problems is the spike in people going to prison for non-violent offenses, the group said. The total rose 80 percent between fiscal years 2000 and 2017.

More people were sent to prison last year for non-violent drug offenses than all violent crimes combined, FWD.us found.

Of first-time felons, a majority last year were sentenced to incarceration for non-violent crimes, such as possession, distribution or manufacturing of drugs, driving under the influence, burglary or vehicle theft, according to corrections data cited in the report.

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"Arizona has increasingly used prison sentences — instead of probation, drug treatment, or other alternatives — to sanction people who commit non-violent and first-time felony offenses," the report stated. "Research shows that even short periods of incarceration can cause irreversible harm — preventing people from maintaining employment and housing, fulfilling childcare responsibilities, or receiving treatment."

Drug sentences drive prison growth

Harsher sanctions for drug offenses contribute to Arizona's bulging prison system, FWD.us said.

The number of people sentenced to prison for drug offenses grew faster than any other type of crime, the report said.

Imprisonment for drug possession between fiscal years 2000 and 2017 jumped 142 percent.

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To explain the increase, researchers pointed to Proposition 301, a ballot measure voters approved in 2006 that allowed judges to send people who possessed methamphetamine to prison on their first offense.

Previously, judges were only able to send people convicted of such offenses to drug counseling and treatment, the report said.

Since that change, the number of people sentenced to prison for the drug types included in the ballot measure has nearly tripled, the report said.

Meanwhile, the amount of people imprisoned for drugs not included in Proposition 301, such as marijuana, heroin and other opioids, has barely budged.

Arizona's habit of punishing drug offenders with prison time is in contrast to California, Utah and Oklahoma, which "defelonized" simple possession charges, according to the report. Those people are sent to community treatment programs rather than prison.

FWD.us argued Arizona should follow the lead of other states and put more funding into drug treatment.

"Seventy-eight percent of people currently in Arizona's prisons have been assessed with moderate or intensive substance abuse needs, but only three percent are receiving treatment at any given time," the report said.

Prison populations grow along with sentence lengths

The report also criticizes Arizona's pattern of lengthening sentences for non-violent offenders who repeat crimes.

Arizona keeps people in prison, depending on the crime, from 25 to 100 percent longer than the national averages, FWD.us said.

The average sentence for non-violent offenses is 33.2 months for a first offense compared to 102.3 months for a third offense, the report said.

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Combined with Arizona's "truth in sentencing" laws that require inmates to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, people with relatively minor offenses can stay behind bars for a long time, lead researcher Felicity Rose said.

The group argued Arizona can both reduce prison rates and cut crime because 32 other states have done it.

"The best research now shows that alternatives to incarceration are more effective than prison at reducing recidivism for most people and long prison sentences are ineffective as a crime control measure," FWD.us said.

Another call for criminal justice reform

FWD.us echoes many of the findings the ACLU laid out in a report a couple weeks ago: Arizona has an ever-growing prison population with mandatory minimums that punish repeat offenders more harshly than other states.

Both reports support offering treatment programs in lieu of prison for non-violent offenses, though the ACLU suggested halving sentence lengths for numerous other crimes as well.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery pushed against the ACLU report, criticizing it for not recognizing Arizona as a thoroughfare for drug trafficking.

"If we were to lessen punishment for drug trafficking, what's the message that we would be sending?" Montgomery told The Arizona Republic at the time. "(W)e would just see more of that particular type of crime."

In response, FWD.us cited a recent report from The Pew Charitable Trusts that said "nearly half of those sentenced for drug crimes in 2009 were street-level dealers or below" and that "serious traffickers" made up only 11 percent of drug arrests.

That report was nationwide, rather than specific to Arizona.

Montgomery also said it would be more effective to begin anti-recidivism programs while an inmate's behind bars — not after they've attained their freedom.

Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at 602-444-2474 or perry.vandell@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @PerryVandell.

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