LINCOLN – The final report developed by the Nebraska Criminal Justice Reinvestment Working Group, with support from the Crime and Justice Institute, was released Jan. 14.
The working group is made up of criminal justice leaders from across the state and led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Steve Lathrop, Governor Pete Ricketts, and Chief Justice Michael Heavican. The report recommends a variety of policy options to reduce recidivism and protect public safety in Nebraska. In some cases, where noted, the options did not receive unanimous support from the members of the working group.
The Nebraska Criminal Justice Reinvestment Working Group met several times over the last six months. The working group examined data analyzed by the Crime and Justice Institute collected from Nebraska’s criminal justice system. The goal was to identify evidence-based strategies and data-driven reforms. The working group also sought input from individuals and groups directly impacted by crime and the criminal justice system, including victims/survivors, law enforcement, behavioral health providers, and individuals who’ve been incarcerated.
The working group’s review was part of a statewide effort to evaluate Nebraska’s criminal justice system using federal assistance through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). JRI is a public-private partnership of the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Crime and Justice Institute provided the data collection and analysis for this effort.
The report is available by clicking here.