NCJ Number
239515
Date Published
June 2011
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This report from the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments examines the justice reinvestment strategy for bringing out-of-State prisoners back to the State of Hawaii.
Abstract
According to data compiled by criminal justice agencies in Hawaii, approximately one-third of the State's adult prison population is housed in out-of-State prison facilities. In addition, the State has seen a significant increase in both the rate of violent crime and the prison population over the past decade. To address these issues, State leaders have established a working group to analyze data and develop a comprehensive set of policy options that would establish a reinvestment strategy for returning out-of-State prisoners to Hawaii, reducing spending on corrections, and reinvesting these savings in strategies that would reverse recent crime trends. The report briefly discusses criminal justice trends in the State for the period 2000 through 2009. These trends are: property crime has declined, but violent crime has increased; the State prison population has increased, along with State spending on corrections; State policymakers currently do not have a sophisticated projection to forecast the growth of the State's prison population; the State uses an indeterminate sentencing and parole system unlike other in the country; the State's innovative approach to supervising people on probation and enforcing conditions of their community supervision has gained national recognition; and the State's recidivism rate has declined. This report also briefly discusses the justice reinvestment approach developed by the working group: Step 1 - analyze data and develop policy options; Step 2 - adopt new policies and put reinvestment strategies into place; and Step 3 - measure performance.