Public Safety

CJI has received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) to provide technical assistance to county and tribal justice systems as part of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). Justice reinvestment is a data-driven approach that enhances public safety, reduces corrections spending, and redirects savings to alternative criminal justice strategies.

CJI facilitates and supports a series of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) National Corrections Research Network meetings. The results of these meetings will be used to provide recommendations for a national research agenda.

Policy Work in State & Local Government: South Carolina Sentencing Reform Commission

Kentucky Task Force on the Penal Code and Controlled Substances Act

CJI's Policy Work in State & Local Government: Kentucky

Pew Policy Framework to Strengthen Community Corrections

The Kentucky Task force on the Penal Code and Controlled Substances Act was charged to "provide to the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary and the Legislative Research Commission draft changes to the Penal Code, the Controlled Substances Act, and other necessary statutes. The draft shall be based on the principles of 'Justice Reinvestment' and shall provide for alternatives to incarceration; the use of community treatment, education, and rehabilitation programs that have been proven to reduce recidivism; the monitoring of defendants where necessary; and a reduction of recidivism while protecting and enhancing public safety."

CJI, in collaboration with Pew and JFA Associates, analyzed the drivers of the correctional population; assessed the current state of correctional interventions and their alignment with evidence-based practices; reviewed current policies to identify options for improving effectiveness and efficiency; and projected the impact of current and proposed policies on the correctional population.

Arkansas Sentencing and Corrections Working Group

CJI's Policy Work in State & Local Government: Arkansas

Pew Policy Framework to Strengthen Community Corrections

In March 2009, Arkansas established a bipartisan, inter-branch working group to steer an analysis of Arkansas's sentencing and corrections data. This group, with the assistance of experts from the Pew Center on the States, Crime and Justice Institute at CRJ, and JFA Associates, provided education and research on proposed policy reforms, including those that would reduce admissions to prison and avert the cost of new prison construction, provide alternatives to incarceration and revocation and evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes for returning offenders. The working group consisted of state leaders from both chambers of the legislature and both political parties as well as experts from law enforcement, the judiciary and community corrections.