How Has Justice Reinvestment Worked in the USA?

Abstract

As more US states have taken up justice reinvestment to deal with ballooning corrections populations and the budgetary realities that go with them, justice reinvestment has taken a range of shapes. Cumulatively, these strategies have contributed to a change in the political climate whereby lowering imprisonment rates can be seriously entertained by public officials (Austin et al., 2013: 1). Moreover, according to Gary Dennis of the BJA, JRI initiatives have led to improvements in levels of professionalism within the not-for-profit sector and faith-based organisations as their work gets drawn into a framework involving stronger oversight and evaluation.