The Pew Center on the States released the following statement today regarding Governor Tom Corbett's signing of House Bill 135. The bill is the second half of the Justice Reinvestment reform package that was enacted through Senate Bill 100 in June (now “Act 122”) to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and control corrections costs in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania's justice reinvestment package reflects an emerging national consensus on criminal justice policy that favors sound science over sound bites,” said Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States. “State leaders have crafted a serious public safety strategy that keeps violent and career criminals behind bars but also cuts prison costs and shifts the savings into new policing and offender supervision efforts that research shows will do a better job stopping crime before it happens.”
This legislation is the product of a bipartisan, inter-branch working group established by Governor Corbett in January. The Justice Reinvestment Working Group received intensive technical from the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the Pew Center on the States, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice.
For more information on Pew's Public Safety Performance Project, please visit our website or contact Emily Halnon at ehalnon@pewtrusts.org or 202-540-6385.