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.
Arkansas policymakers have long expressed concerns about the state’s high recidivism rate. Over the past 10 years, an…
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In April 2025, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a package of bipartisan criminal justice legislation into law,…
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Explainer: Key Findings and Options from Arkansas’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative
Arkansas policymakers have long expressed concerns about the state’s high recidivism rate. Over the past 10 years, an estimated 72 percent of prison admissions in the state involved people who were revoked from supervision, with unmet substance use and mental health challenges playing a significant role in these failures.
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Explainer: How a New Law in Arkansas Tackles Crime, Recidivism, and Community Supervision Challenges
In April 2025, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a package of bipartisan criminal justice legislation into law, which is designed to increase public safety and improve community supervision. The legislation passed nearly unanimously.
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