Right-Sizing Prisons

Overview

Around the country, business leaders are advocating for public safety policies that control corrections costs, keep communities safe and ensure states have the workforce they need for a thriving economy.

In 2010, the Public Safety Performance Project asked business leaders at the forefront of these efforts to participate in a question and answer session on their approach to working with policy makers on public safety issues.

They shared strategies for overcoming political challenges to reform and specific policy changes that are already yielding positive results in their states.

The business leaders featured were:

• Dave Adkisson, president and CEO, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the board, American Chamber of Commerce Executives 
• Barney T. Bishop III, president and CEO, Associated Industries of Florida 
• Frank H. Beal,  executive director, Chicago Metropolis 2020; board member, Business and Professional People for the Public Interest 
• James R. Holcomb, vice president for business advocacy and associate general counsel, Michigan Chamber of Commerce 
• Erin Hubert, vice president and general managers, Entercom Radio; board chair, Citizens Crime Commission 

The American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) held a webinar on February 17, 2010, featuring Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States, and Dave Adkisson, president and CEO of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, to discuss why and how business leaders are working with policy makers to develop strategies that can yield less crime at a lower cost.

Listen to audio of the webinar or download Adam Gelb's and Dave Adkisson's slides from the event.