CJI has worked with Nevada’s justice systems since 2018 — analyzing the data behind the state’s landmark 2019 sentencing and corrections reform, supporting its implementation, and more recently assisting with rural behavioral health crisis response and justice-system data. The work has spanned the governor’s office, the legislature, the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice, and the state’s corrections and data agencies.
At a glance
- Years: 2018–present
- Worked with: the governor’s office, the Nevada Legislature, the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice (ACAJ), the Nevada Sentencing Commission, the Nevada Local Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, and the Nevada Department of Corrections
- Where: Statewide, including rural counties
- Areas: Justice Reinvestment, sentencing and corrections, probation and parole, behavioral health crisis response, justice-system data
- What the data showed: In 2017, 66% of people admitted to prison in Nevada were sentenced for a nonviolent crime, and 39% of prison admissions resulted from probation and parole violations. Nevada’s incarceration rate for women had risen 39% over the prior decade — 43% higher than the national average.
What CJI is tracking now
Nevada’s Legislative Session: Prison Population Growth
Justice Reinvestment: sentencing and corrections
In 2018, Nevada’s prison population had grown nearly 700% since 1980, while the state’s general population grew by about 250%. Governor Brian Sandoval secured federal Justice Reinvestment Initiative support and charged the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice with reviewing the system; CJI provided the technical assistance when the state launched the initiative.
- Policy analysis, 2018–2019: Over roughly six months, CJI compiled and analyzed state data and interviewed people across Nevada’s justice system to identify what was driving prison growth, finding that people were spending 31% more time in prison and presenting data on recidivism. The commission advanced 25 recommendations in January 2019, which CJI estimated could avert 89% of anticipated prison growth over the next decade and avoid an estimated $640 million in additional spending.
Key publications: Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice — Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Final Report (January 2019)
Implementation and oversight
The 2019 legislation built ongoing oversight into Nevada’s system, and CJI continued to support it. AB 236 charged the Nevada Sentencing Commission with overseeing implementation and created the Nevada Local Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council to report on community needs and identify grant opportunities for local agencies. CJI’s work in Nevada was supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance.
- Implementation support, 2019-2021: CJI worked with state partners on the rollout of AB 236, including an overview and implementation briefing to the Nevada Local Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council in 2021.
- Data infrastructure: Nevada launched a one-stop shop for justice-system data in 2022 to track outcomes under AB 236.
- Outcome measurement: At Nevada’s request, CJI assessed the pandemic’s impact on the state’s justice system and what the state could learn from it (2022).
Key publications: COVID-19 and Criminal Justice in Nevada: Learning from a Crisis (report, March 2022)
Behavioral health and rural crisis response
CJI has supported Nevada in strengthening behavioral health crisis response, with a focus on the state’s rural areas.
- Rural crisis response: In 2022, CJI helped design and launch a telehealth pilot to address gaps in rural crisis response, connecting law enforcement officers across 11 agencies with behavioral health specialists for real-time support.
- Training: CJI provided behavioral health training in Nevada (2023).
Legislative sessions
- 2019 session: Justice Reinvestment. The legislature passed AB 236, the omnibus justice reinvestment bill implementing the ACAJ’s recommendations, with changes to sentencing, release, probation and parole, and reentry; Governor Steve Sisolak signed it in June 2019, a step CJI marked as it applauded the legislation’s passage. The same session, AB 80 established the Nevada Department of Sentencing Policy. See Justice Reinvestment: sentencing and corrections, above, for CJI’s analysis behind the recommendations.
- 2019–2022: Implementation. The Nevada Sentencing Commission tracks and reports on outcomes from AB 236 under NRS 176.01343. See Implementation and oversight, above, for CJI’s role.
Publications
See all CJI publications on Nevada
Related national analysis
- Community Supervision Conditions Nationwide, a 50-state landscape analysis for which Nevada was one of the states CJI engaged directly
- Behavioral Health Crisis Response Landscape Analysis, which highlights Nevada among the states where law enforcement adopted telehealth for rural crisis response
- Justice Reinvestment: Phase II, implementing statewide reforms, which includes Nevada among the states in the implementation phase
- JRI: Helping law enforcement keep communities safe, with the Council of State Governments, which includes Nevada among eight states
Explore. CJI is a nonpartisan justice policy and practice organization working across the full continuum of state and local systems. See what CJI does.
Collaborate. Whether you’re weighing a decision, putting one into practice, or examining outcomes, CJI brings evidence and experience to the challenges you’re facing. Partner with CJI on a new or ongoing engagement.
Connect. General questions: cjiconnect@cjinstitute.org | Subscribe to The Crime & Justice Insider