NCJ Number
248498
Date Published
November 2014
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This policy brief provides information about North Carolina's 2011 passage of the Justice Reinvestment Act and the impact it has had on the State.
Abstract
Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has supported the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), which assists State and local governments as they generate cost-effective, evidence-based policies to generate meaningful savings for States while maintaining a focus on public safety. In a public-private partnership, BJA provides technical assistance and financial support for these system-wide criminal justice reform efforts. North Carolina was one of the first sites accepted into the JRI and has generated tremendous results over the past three years. This report reflects on North Carolina's successes three years after the bill became law and chronicles these achievements. Since North Carolina passed the Justice Reinvestment Act in 2011, the State has reduced the prison population by 8 percent, closed 10 prisons, saved or averted an estimated $560 million in costs, funded 175 probation officer positions, increased the number of people released from prison who receive post-release supervision, and reduced probation revocations significantly, all while experiencing a decrease in crime of 11 percent. The report observes that system-wide change takes time. But by investing in the framework for reform through JRI, North Carolinians will experience the long-term cost savings and public safety benefits for years to come, making its criminal justice system more effective and the State a safer place to live.