Crime makes halting comeback as a political issue

From the 1960s to the early 1990s, Republicans hammered Democrats on crime for focusing too much on rehabilitation and not enough on punishment and imprisonment. That changed as crime rates plunged in the 1990s.

Now increasing numbers of states are turning away from mandatory prison sentences and embracing rehabilitation programs to thin out inmate populations and save taxpayer money. The shift has been particularly pronounced in conservative, Republican-dominated states like Georgia and Texas.

That growing consensus is facing its first test in two political bellwether states – Colorado and California – where demographics have pushed Republicans into a political corner.