Justice Reinvestment

Throughout state government, lawmakers are interested in results-based policies.  At least 27 states have made some kind of justice reinvestment and significant reallocations in more than a dozen states show promising results. 

The resources listed on this page offer additional information about these state initiatives and related assistance.

A growing number of states are using “justice reinvestment” to curb corrections costs, reduce offender recidivism and improve public safety.  The data-driven reforms have been bipartisan, cross-governmental and impactful.  Policies aim to reduce spending on corrections and reinvest the savings in strategies that increase public safety and hold offenders accountable.

Justice reinvestment typically involves:

• Collecting and analyzing data and criminal justice trends related to jail and prison populations.
• Developing and adopting policies that manage existing resources and generate savings without compromising public safety.
• Reinvesting a portion of those savings in criminal justice and other community programs that further reduce recidivism and prevent crime.
• Measuring the fiscal and criminal justice effects of these reforms and reinvestments to ensure that projected results and benefits are achieved.