Justice Reinvestment in Pennsylvania
In 2015, Pennsylvania embarked on a justice reinvestment approach to further reduce its prison population and corrections costs–building on successes the state experienced after taking the same data-driven approach in 2012.
In 2012, Pennsylvania employed a data-driven Justice Reinvestment approach to reduce corrections spending and reinvest savings in strategies to improve public safety. Following this effort, the General Assembly voted unanimously to enact legislation based on a Justice Reinvestment policy framework (Act 122 and Act 196), and as a result of these and other policy reforms, Pennsylvania has experienced a decrease in its state prison population and averted significant corrections costs.
Despite the declining prison population and averted corrections costs, however, in 2015, Pennsylvania had the highest rate of incarcerated adults in the Northeast and there were approximately 50,000 people incarcerated in state prison, which cost the state more than $2 billion annually. People on supervision who recidivated accounted for a portion of this cost, with nearly one-third of prison beds occupied by people who violated the conditions of their probation or parole. Insufficient county probation resources and inefficient use of parole resources limited the effectiveness of supervision and exacerbated recidivism.
To build on prior efforts and address challenges related to costs, supervision, and recidivism, state leaders again embarked on a Justice Reinvestment approach in 2015 with intensive technical assistance from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.
This effort culminated in new legislation signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf in 2019 that aims to eliminate delays in releasing people with short sentences from prison and streamline the process used to direct people into drug treatment. The legislation is expected to reduce the state prison population by more than 600 people over 5 years, saving taxpayers an estimated $45 million in corrections costs.
Pennsylvania Justice Reinvestment News
These important pieces of legislation will cut red tape, reducing bureaucracy will result in savings of time and money, and we will reinvest those savings into criminal justice programs that reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and better serve victims of crime.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf
Governor Tom Wolf signing the bills. Governor Tom Wolf, surrounded by legislators and criminal justice advocates, today signed two Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI 2) bills, hailing them as yet another successful bipartisan effort to make the state’s justice system fairer while keeping communities safe. Harrisburg, PA – Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Key Staff
Carl Reynolds
Senior Legal and Policy Advisor, Research
Carl
Reynolds
helps
manage
and
develop
projects
related
to
court
initiatives,
corrections,
sentencing
reform,
and
juvenile
justice
issues.
Previously,
Carl
served
as
director
of
the
Texas
Office
of
Court
Administration.
From
1997
to
2005,
he
was
general
counsel
for
the
...
Texas
Department
of
Criminal
Justice
(TDCJ),
responsible
for
prisons,
probation,
and
parole.
He
also
was
general
counsel
to
the
Texas
Board
of
Criminal
Justice—the
governing
body
for
TDCJ.
Prior
to
that
position,
he
was
the
executive
director
of
the
Texas
Punishment
Standards
Commission,
general
counsel
to
the
Texas
Senate
Committee
on
Criminal
Justice,
director
of
the
Senate's
redistricting
staff,
and
a
briefing
attorney
for
the
Texas
Court
of
Criminal
Appeals.
Among
other
projects,
he
works
on
the
establishment
and
evaluation
of
public
defender
offices
and
on
justice
reinvestment
strategies.
Carl
holds
a
JD
from
the
University
of
Texas
School
of
Law,
an
MA
from
the
Lyndon
B.
Johnson
School
of
Public
Affairs,
and
a
BA
from
the
University
of
Cincinnati.
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Patrick Armstrong
Project Manager, State Initiatives
Patrick
Armstrong
evaluates
state
statutes,
case
law,
and
court
rules,
as
well
as
engages
stakeholders
involved
in
the
justice
reinvestment
process.
Prior
to
joining
the
CSG
Justice
Center,
Patrick
worked
at
Skadden,
Arps,
Slate,
Meagher
&
Flom
LLP,
as
well
...
as
for
the
Brennan
Center
for
Justice
in
New
York,
where
he
explored
avenues
to
eliminate
racial
disparities
in
the
criminal
justice
system.
He
was
also
an
intern
for
the
Alameda
County
District
Attorney’s
Office
in
California.
As
a
student-athlete
on
the
basketball
team
at
the
University
of
California,
Berkeley,
Patrick
earned
a
BA
in
political
science
and
African
American
studies.
He
earned
his
JD
from
the
New
York
University
School
of
Law.
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