Progressive Prison Project
Innocent Spouse & Children Project
Greenwich, Connecticut
Justice Reinvestment in Connecticut:
The SouthWest Connecticut Justice Reinvestment Initiative
Please join us at this important and informative conference
on Justice Reinvestment and Criminal Justice Reform:
"Building Bridges: Revisited"
Central Connecticut State
University
Student Center, Alumni Hall
New Britain, CT, Tues., Jan.
14th
__________________
Southwest CT Justice Reinvestment
Initiative
JUSTICE REINVESTMENT
Introduction
The harmful impacts of Connecticut’s policy of investing more state
funding in prisons than in higher education has dire consequences on our
economy. The direct impact of this
policy is clear: the number of people incarcerated has grown exponentially,
while drastically undercutting community support services that facilitate and
ensure success in community reentry.
Economies are regional and require systemic changes to assist
policymakers and communities set priorities. Justice reinvestment is a model
that could shift the focus for long-term policy changes to cut state spending
and reinvest in affordable housing, access to jobs, transportation, good
education, healthy environments, and safe places to recreate and live.
What is Justice Reinvestment?
Justice reinvestment is a data-driven approach to improve public
safety, reduce corrections and related criminal justice spending, and reinvest
savings in strategies that can decrease crime and strengthen neighborhoods. The
purpose of justice reinvestment is to manage and allocate criminal justice
populations more cost-effectively, generating savings that can be reinvested in
evidence-based strategies that increase public safety while holding offenders
accountable.
Justice Reinvestment in Connecticut would focus on reinvesting savings
from decreased funding for prisons to investing the money in community supervision,
offender counseling, substance
abuse rehabilitation and support systems including affordable housing, access
to education and jobs to ensure success in community reentry. In short, it
would allocate limited financial resources to produce better outcomes.
Why Justice Reinvestment?
·
It costs CT taxpayers over $50,000/year to
incarcerate one CT prisoner when employee benefits and pensions are included.
·
This does not include the additional cost to
manage our criminal justice system and related economy, community, family,
children and human costs associated with each prisoner.
·
75% of CT inmates have a history of substance
abuse. Addiction is a disease, which deserves rehabilitation, not
criminalization and incarceration.
·
More than 50% of CT prisoners receive a sentence
of less than two years. Non-violent drug and technical parole offenses should
not automatically result in incarceration and re-incarceration.
How would Justice Reinvestment work?
Connecticut currently allocates $600 million for the state Department
of Correction (DOC). If DOC spending could be decreased by 12.5% through
reduced recidivism, more community supervision, etc., a savings of $75 million
would be realized. Justice Reinvestment legislation could reallocate that
savings in the following ways:
-
Direct reduction of state debt ($25 million)
-
Enhanced community supervision in CT’s five
cities where most crime occurs ($25 million)
-
Spending on opportunities which would prevent
future incarcerations, e.g., housing, education, mental health/substance abuse
treatment ($25 million)
What can you do?
For more information, please feel free to contact me or any of the Board Members of the SouthWest Connecticut Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
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We are not alone! Many states have Justice Reinvestment legislation and models that work, reduce recidivism and save the taxpayers money. Learn more here:
Sentencing and Corrections Reforms in Justice Reinvestment States: Pew Research
Click HERE to register.
Online information available soon at www.ccsu.edu/imrp
Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div
Director, Progressive Prison Project/
Innocent Spouse & Children Project
Director, Progressive Prison Project/
Innocent Spouse & Children Project
Christ Church Greenwich
254 East Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, Connecticut, USA 06830
Assoc. Minister/
Director of Prison Ministries
First Baptist Church of Bridgeport
126 Washington Avenue, 1st Fl.
Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA 06604
Greenwich, Connecticut, USA 06830
Assoc. Minister/
Director of Prison Ministries
First Baptist Church of Bridgeport
126 Washington Avenue, 1st Fl.
Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA 06604
(0) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887
jgrant@progressiveprisonproject.org
jg3074@columbia.edu progressiveprisonproject.org
jgrant@progressiveprisonproject.org
jg3074@columbia.edu progressiveprisonproject.org
