BCJ 3150 Unit VIII Assessment

How do you think the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) may affect the future of probation and parole?

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative is a public / private program in which participating states receive funds to make changes or implement policies and programs that prioritize prison space for serious and repeat offenders while using alternatives to incarceration for first-time and low-level criminals. In theory, these changes result in a savings, which can then be reinvested to create more change. The question some people are asking is what is the value of a life that might have been saved had that convicted felon, who avoided prison via programs like these, been incarcerated rather than committing additional crimes to include murder.

Like other programs sponsored by groups like the Urban Institute and Pew Charitable Trusts, the goal is save tax-payer money by more efficiently utilizing state prison space. This means not sending some convicted violent criminals to prison in hopes that community-based programs will be effective in curbing additional crimes and violence. JRI’s focus is to monitor these benificiaries and use the stats they produce, both good & bad, to better guide future policy decisions. States get funding for the community-based programs such as problem-solving courts, transitional housing, electronic monitoring, and behavioral health programs. These programs will increase the need for additional probation officers and state parole agents because of the sheer numbers of offenders not being housed in traditional prison settings. Rather, they are being released to community supervision programs while others are being paroled at much earlier times than traditional guidelines would have permitted.

What is the significance of evidence-based practices to the future of probation and parole?

Evidence-based practices are a fresh way of reviewing statistics and current literature to determine what is actually working and what is not effective in terms of deceasing recidivism and reducing community risk. The focus is to find cost-efficient practices of dealing with criminals that lessens the need for incarceration. It uses statistical checks & balances that require probation and parole officers to carry out assessments to identify risk-factors. When risk out-weighs benefit, a report is derived and possible revocation or denial of probation/parole might be the result. Conversely, should a higher classification of offender score lower on assessment after completing certain classes coupled with the availability of alternative housing, the public may be better served and money saved by utilizing alternative models rather than incarceration in this case. Taking advice from other professions, the probation & parole community can use this information to better guide policy.