Justice Reinvestment Initiative

In 2011, Pennsylvania initiated the process of employing a data-driven JRI approach to reduce corrections spending and reinvest a portion of the savings generated in strategies to increase public safety.

At that time, the Commonwealth was facing a crisis in the making, as a state prison population projection of approximately 56,082 by December 2014 -- an increase of over 4,500 inmates -- would have necessitated a new prison being built each year to safely house the population. 

Using funding from the Pew Center on the States and the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance and technical assistance from the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, a bi-partisan, inter-branch task force was created to delve into the Commonwealth’s criminal justice data and develop policy recommendations and legislation to achieve these goals. 

The final report of the 2011 Task Force was adopted in May 2012 and targeted four main areas for improvement, including: training and equipment for law enforcement, including problem-oriented policing and partnerships among agencies; expanding local resources to counties that maximize probation and other options instead of state prison, including alternative sentences; improving efficiencies in the parole process; and increasing accountability of and improving the use of community correction centers (CCCs) in PA.  Act 122 of 2012 and Act 196 of 2012 were subsequently passed to implement these recommendations and redirect savings to be reinvested in supporting victims’ services, local law enforcement, county probation and parole and other programs and services.

Since the adoption of Acts 122 and 196, Pennsylvania has realized a reduction in the total state inmate population.  In 2014, the inmate population within the state correctional institutions decreased by 908, which is the largest one-year drop in population since 1971, and the fourth time in the past 40 years that the population has shown an annual decrease rather than an increase. 

Justice Center: Council of State Governments Presentations to PA Working Group

• Presentation one
• Presentation two
• Presentation three
• Presentation four
• Presentation five 

Pennsylvania has achieved measurable reductions and savings through our initial participation in JRI, but more can and should be done to reduce crime, reduce victims, and avert further growth of our state and county prison populations.  Recognizing this, leaders of PCCD, the Governor’s Office, the General Assembly, the Judiciary, the PA Department of Corrections (DOC), the PA Probation and Parole (PBPP) and other key stakeholders from our Commonwealth formally requested assistance in late 2015 from PEW and CSG to participate in a Phase II JRI process.

Although Pennsylvania celebrates the positive impacts from our JRI efforts, we recognize that more must be done to bring our state in line with others in our region and across the country. For instance, in 2013, Pennsylvania had the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast, with 391 adults in prison per 100,000 residents. Between 2004 and 2013, the Commonwealth’s prison population grew 22 percent, a trend that stands in contrast to neighboring states New York and Jersey, whose prison populations dropped 16 percent each over the same period, all while their reported index crime continued to fall. Over this period, the prison population for all states increased 6 percent, almost one-quarter the increase seen in Pennsylvania.

In addition, as the Commonwealth’s prison population has climbed, costs have increased to accommodate the growth. Pennsylvania taxpayers are left to bear the cost of funding our corrections system. Between FY 2005 and FY 2014, state spending on corrections increased 44 percent, from $1.5 to $2.2 billion. Unless Pennsylvania adopts a change in direction on criminal justice policy, these costs will continue to escalate.

We believe that the key to achieving such impacts is addressing pressures on the front end of Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system. The impact of Pennsylvania’s previous JRI approach primarily was felt on the back end, in corrections and parole. For the state to make gains in cutting costs, bending the curve downward on incarcerated populations, and reducing recidivism, Pennsylvania must address and reform the cost drivers rooted in the front end of the system. Determining these drivers will require intensive analysis of data from all parts of our system: crime and arrest, diversion sentencing, county probation and parole, programs and treatment to lower recidivism, jail, prison, parole, and parole supervision.

In order to guide the JRI process, a new Justice Reinvestment Working Group has been convened, and includes representatives from the Governor’s Office; agency heads from DOC, PBPP, PCS and PCCD; representatives from the Judiciary; adult probation and parole; the District Attorneys Association; and the Majority and Minority Chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committee.  This bi-partisan and multi-agency working group is partnering with CSG Justice Center staff to analyze Pennsylvania’s criminal justice data, develop strategies and solutions based on that data, with an overarching goal of developing and implementing policies and programs (e.g., pre-trial diversion and treatment) that will continue to avert the growth of the Commonwealth’s prison population while ensuring that public safety is not compromised.  We will seek to invest in evidence-based programs and innovative practices proven to reduce recidivism rates in the long-run.

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative 2016