Plain Talk With Rob Port

There is a big debate over criminal justice reform at the legislative session in Bismarck. Attorney General Drew Wrigley suggests the state has been soft on crime, and that's resulted in higher crime rates. He's pushing a bill to keep people convicted of many crimes locked up for longer. But Jonathan Holth, Gov. Kelly Armstrong's Commissioner of Recovery and Re-entry, pointed out on this episode of Plain Talk that, far from being soft on crime, North Dakota's incarceration rates have been climbing. According to state Department of Corrections data, he's right. The population in North Dakota's state prisons (not counting local jails) is up more than 15% over the last five years, and more than 47% in the previous 20. There is friction between Wrigley and Armstrong's administration over Wrigley's sentencing bill, but Holth joined Plain Talk to talk about another set of bills lawmakers are considering. House Bill 1425, 1417, and 1549, seek to create new tools to help those with addiction and mental health chal