( CNN ) Criminal justice reform is rapidly becoming one of the few bipartisan issues of our time . It 's about time . America has the highest incarceration rate in the world , with 5 % of the world 's population and 25 % of its prisoners . Nearly 2½ million Americans are in prison . Over 65 million people , or 20 % of the country , have criminal records . Most disturbingly , nearly 40 % of our country 's prisoners are African-Americans , who only make up 13 % of the general population . It 's time for policymakers to address this criminal justice crisis head on . We must change the dismal status quo . We must start by asking a simple question : Why are so many Americans criminals ? Look no further than Washington , which has spent the past century devising the most complicated — and nonsensical — criminal code known to man . The federal criminal code includes over 4,500 laws and counting , not to mention government regulations for which there are criminal penalties . The list of federal crimes is so long , so broad and so vague that you and I likely commit three felonies every day , unwittingly breaking numerous federal laws as we go about our daily business . No wonder America 's prison population is out of control . Americans are n't addicted to crime ; our politicians are addicted to criminalizing things . Sadly , the criminalization of Americans also traps them in poverty . According to the Pew Charitable Trusts , incarceration leads to reduced wages ( 11 % drop ) , employment ( nine weeks lost annually ) , and earnings overall ( 40 % annually ) . Making matters worse , over half of new prisoners are at or below the poverty line and three-quarters of former prisoners are sent back to jail within five years of their release . The deck is stacked against my generation in particular . Young adults are 10 % of the population yet comprise 29 % of the country 's arrests . Young African-Americans are particularly at risk : They 're 15 times more likely to be in prison than whites . No wonder 18-to-29-year-olds have the lowest level of trust of any age group that our justice system treats everyone equally . Thankfully , there is a bipartisan consensus in Washington that something needs to be done , and fast . On the left , civil rights groups and their allies in Congress have been demanding that the criminal system be fixed for years . On the right , politicians from Paul Ryan to Rand Paul are now recommending the same thing . If politicians are serious , they should consider three specific areas for reform . 1 . Reduce punishment for nonviolent crimes . Politicians should consider reducing nonviolent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors , and end mandatory sentencing for nonviolent crimes . The federal government 's unsuccessful war on drugs has led to unfair punishments for nonviolent drug offenders who made youthful mistakes . While some policies may have made sense in the 1980s and '90s , they now do more harm than good . Those involved in the buying and selling of small amounts of drugs should n't be subjected to years or decades in prison for their crimes . And more generally , judges should be free to tailor their rulings to the specific facts and details of the case -- and the person standing before them . 2 . Rebuild respect between communities and police . One-size-fits-all mandates and decrees from Washington -- from drug laws to civil asset forfeiture to no-knock warrants — create divisions between local law enforcement and the local communities they serve . Practices , policies and programs that create unnecessary distrust and unease should be eliminated . It 's the same for police militarization , which has occurred in large part because Washington has supplied local agencies with weapons and tools that are inappropriate for use in local communities . Letting local communities set their own law enforcement policies will go a long way toward restoring the trust that right now seems almost nonexistent . 3 . Give ex-nonviolent offenders a second chance . Too many reformed convicts return to jail because they face insurmountable barriers that keep them from living a normal life . Legislators can begin fixing this by encouraging greater record-sealing and expungement for youthful , non violent offenders , thereby giving people who made mistakes a greater chance of finding work and rejoining society . Reducing licensing barriers and restoring voting rights for those with criminal backgrounds should also be considered . This list is only a starting point , yet our elected officials could — and should — quickly and easily take it up . In our era of hyperpartisanship , we should focus on those few things on which Americans agree . Fixing our country 's broken criminal justice system should be at the top of the list .
America has the highest incarceration rate in the world , holding 20 % of the world 's prisoners . Evan Feinberg : We must change the dismal status quo with specific solutions .