Justice reinvestment: Prison reform group has great intentions, but the state's problems require results | PennLive.com

Justice reinvestment: Prison reform group has great intentions, but the state's problems require results | PennLive.com

"Every governor comes into office promising to find ways to cut costs in the corrections system.

Considering that it is one of the biggest slices of the state budget pie — and has been for years — it is no wonder.

Too many times, however, the focus is on the prisons and not nearly enough on those most likely to end up getting locked up or on the inmates who can get out of prison after serving a minimum sentence but don’t.

Looking at the bigger picture is the goal of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, a project initiated by Gov. Tom Corbett that has enlisted public officials from the administration, Legislature, other offices and the justice system. The panel has the ambitious goal of finding ways to bring down crime, lower the cost of the corrections system and decrease the number of repeat offenders who end up behind bars. It hopes to have a proposal by May.

The project is part of a national movement and is funded by the U.S. Justice Department and the Pew Center on the States. The Council on State Governments Justice Center also is involved.

The core of the problem in Pennsylvania is clear: Most crime statistics are falling, yet our prisons — from county to state penitentiaries — continue to be packed with inmates. It was to the point that, until recently, the commonwealth was shipping prisoners to other states because we had no empty beds.

Criminals who repeatedly enter the criminal justice system also are a big problem. From 2000 to 2010, the prison population in the state increased by 41 percent, from 11,551 to 16,404.

Despite the bulging prisons, over the last six years fewer people have been leaving prison when they reach their minimum sentence requirement. That number has dropped from 43 percent to 26 percent."