Justice Reinvestment Initiative

How States Use Data to Design Innovative Strategies to Reduce Crime, Recidivism, and Costs

State policymakers are grappling with a unique combination of public safety challenges, including upticks in violent crime, the opioid epidemic, people who have mental illnesses in the justice system, high rates of recidivism, and the high cost of corrections, all while trying to improve services for victims and increase opportunities for people returning to communities from jail and prison. To tackle these issues, more than 30 states have partnered with The Council of State Governments Justice Center to use the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.