3 States Enact Broad Corrections Reforms

Article Read time:
Projects: Public Safety Performance
3 States Enact Broad Corrections Reforms

Utah, South Dakota, and West Virginia are the latest states to enact reforms to their adult corrections or juvenile justice systems with overwhelming bipartisan support. The states’ legislative packages are designed to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and control corrections costs.

On April 9, Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R) signed into law sweeping criminal justice legislation that prioritizes prison beds for serious and violent offenders, strengthens probation and parole, and expands reentry and treatment programs. The new law is expected to prevent almost all of the projected growth in the prison population and save the state more than $500 million over the next two decades.

In March, South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard (R) and West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D) signed into law juvenile justice reforms that target the use of residential facilities to youth who are a public safety risk and reinvest the savings in evidence-based community programs. In all, the changes are expected to substantially curtail the number of juvenile offenders in state-funded facilities and save the states more than $50 million, combined, over the next five years.

Sentencing and corrections reforms advanced by the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI)—a public-private partnership between Pew and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance—have enjoyed strong bipartisan consensus in most states. Between 2008 and 2015, lawmakers in 29 states cast more than 5,700 votes in favor of JRI reforms and fewer than 500 in opposition. Through JRI, Pew, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the Crime and Justice Institute, and other partners provide intensive technical assistance to these states.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Data Visualization June 18, 2015

Bipartisan Support for Justice Reinvestment Legislation

Wide majorities in most states approved sentencing and corrections reforms
Quick View
Data Visualization June 18, 2015

Since 2007, more than half of the states have participated in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative and made research-based policy changes to control prison growth, hold offenders accountable, and protect public safety. Although they vary in scope and significance, these reforms have sought to prioritize prison space for serious and violent offenders while expanding alternatives to incarceration for those who can be supervised more effectively and at less expense in the community. These efforts in 30 states have drawn extraordinary bipartisan support: Justice reinvestment reforms have received more than 5,700 “aye” votes in state legislatures, compared with fewer than 500 “no” votes.

Related Resources

Public Safety in Utah Public Safety in South Dakota Public Safety in West Virgnia State Work Juvenile Justice Work
RELATED
Tags
Public safety
Projects
Public Safety Performance
Places
United States Utah West Virginia South Dakota

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference.

Fact Sheet

April 12, 2024 Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them

Podcast

March 22, 2024 Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
A landscape with mountains and clouds. BLM Rule Puts Conservation, Other Land Uses on Equal Footing

MORE FROM PEW

A pair of white and black Adélie penguins standing in the middle of a clump of snow face opposite directions. Seeing Antarctic Change, Scientist Calls for Stronger Action
A shipyard with towers in the foreground, a barge on a river, and a blue sky in the background. Louisiana Primed to Take Helm of Offshore Wind Supply Chain
About a dozen people stand examining large blue bins full of whole fish in a warehouse. Some people are in green clothes, others in blue, and all wear ballcaps. A few hold clipboards. Reducing Risk Strengthens the Seafood Supply Chain
A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.