Justice Reinvestment Bills Filed in Missouri

These bills are the culmination of a months-long justice reinvestment process in the state that began in June 2017 with the goal of addressing a number of significant criminal justice challenges, including recent upticks in violent crime, insufficient behavioral health treatment resources, a fast-growing female prison population, and high recidivism.

Among other changes, the proposed legislation calls for

• Creating a grant program through the Missouri Department of Public Safety that provides funding and analytical assistance to local law enforcement agencies to address challenges with violent crime;
• Establishing and implementing a community behavioral health program to provide comprehensive community-based services for people under supervision who have serious behavioral health conditions;
• Providing gender-responsive and trauma-informed supervision strategies and programs that reflect best practices for females under correctional control; and
• Ensuring that parole release decisions are informed by the results of risk and needs assessments.

Stakeholders from across Missouri’s criminal justice system have provided input and support for the legislation, and both bills are currently under consideration by members of the Missouri House and Senate.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2015- ZB-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.