The Strategy: How Justice Reinvestment Works
Step 1: Analyze the prison population and spending in the communities to which people in prison often return.
Justice reinvestment experts review prison admission data to determine what is driving increases in the population. They calculate the length of stay for various categories of people incarcerated, determine when and how people are released from prison, assess compliance rates for people under probation and parole supervision, and identify categories of people particularly likely to recidivate. Using mapping technology, these experts provide geographic analyses to pinpoint which neighborhoods receive people released from prison. These maps also highlight how spending on programs – Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, child support, unemployment insurance, housing subsidies, Medicaid, and others – often converges on the same families and communities. These data highlight opportunities to manage the prison population growth, increase the integration of government programs and funding streams, and strengthen particular “high-stakes” neighborhoods.
In addition to the examples provided below, more detailed information on how specific jurisdictions are applying the justice reinvestment strategy, can be found on the “Implementing the Strategy” sections for Kansas, Texas, and Connecticut.
