Reducing Prison Populations and Enhancing Public Safety through Justice Reinvestment: Vera Institute of Justice?s Approach to Justice Reinvestment at the State Level

The purpose of the FY 2011 Criminal Justice Improvement and Recidivism Reduction Competitive Grant Program is to continue implement the Justice Reinvestment (JRI)model. JRI refers to a data-driven model that: (1) analyzes criminal justice trends to understand what factors are driving the growth in jail and prison populations; (2) develops and implements policy options to manage the growth in corrections expenditures, generates savings in public revenues, and increases the effectiveness of current spending and investment to increase public safety and improve offender accountability; (3) reinvests a portion of the savings into the justice system to further reduce corrections spending and into the community to further prevent crime; and (4) measures the impact of the policy changes and reinvestment resources and holds policymakers accountable for projected results.

The Vera Institute of Justice will provide concrete, intensive assistance to states and counties to help them identify the drivers of their corrections populations laws, policies, and practices so that they might change those, reduce their spending and reinvest the savings into proven strategies that reduce recidivism. Vera will work with BJA and the JRI Steering Committee to develop, review, and recommend applications from states and counties, provide technical assistance, and provide support to selected state JRI implementation activities.

NCA/NCF

The purpose of the FY 2012 Criminal Justice Improvement and Recidivism Reduction Program is to continue the implement the Justice Reinvestment (JRI)model. JRI refers to a data-driven model that: (1) analyzes criminal justice trends to understand what factors are driving the growth in jail and prison populations; (2) develops and implements policy options to manage the growth in corrections expenditures, generates savings in public revenues, and increases the effectiveness of current spending and investment to increase public safety and improve offender accountability; (3) reinvests a portion of the savings into the justice system to further reduce corrections spending and into the community to further prevent crime; and (4) measures the impact of the policy changes and reinvestment resources and holds policymakers accountable for projected results.

The Vera Institute of Justice will provide concrete, intensive assistance to states and counties to help them identify the drivers of their corrections populations laws, policies, and practices so that they might change those, reduce their spending and reinvest the savings into proven strategies that reduce recidivism. Vera will work with BJA and the JRI Steering Committee to develop, review, and recommend applications from states and counties, provide technical assistance, and provide support to selected state JRI implementation activities.

NCA/NCF