Reducing Crime and Generating Savings: Options for Arizona Policymakers

Justice Reinvestment legislation recently passed in Vermont is the latest example of a state turning pessimistic parole into “presumptive parole.”

Staff from the CSG Justice Center met with the Kansas Criminal Justice Reform Commission last week to present findings and policy recommendations based on recent assessment activities as part of the state’s Justice Reinvestment effort, which launched in September.

Vermont will reinvest nearly $700,000 in community-based programs to reduce recidivism with a likely focus on programs for people who are supervised for domestic violence offenses.

Few receive training in Kansas prisons. Thaddeus Watts is one of the lucky ones.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett is leading efforts to safely improve Kansas’s approach to sentencing, supervision, behavioral health, and reentry as part of the state’s participation in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

Through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, Kansas Rep. Stephen Owens is helping lead work with other criminal justice stakeholders to improve outcomes for people in Kansas’s criminal justice system, disrupt the cycle of recidivism, and find savings to offset recent fiscal losses.