Stateline Midwest ~ April 2013

Michigan, Wisconsin and North Dakota were among the nearly 30 U.S. states where imprisonment rates fell between 2006 and 2011, a March analysis of federal data done by the Pew Charitable Trusts shows.

Nationally, the imprisonment rate fell 3 percent; the U.S. crime rate decreased 13 percent over that same time period.

State and federal prison populations and imprisonment rates have declined for two straight years, after increasing or remaining stable from 2000 to 2009. From 2010 to 2011, 26 states saw incarcerated populations increase, while 22 states experienced decreases and two remained about the same.

Republican and Democratic leaders from all branches of government shared their experiences using this data-driven, consensus-based approach to reduce corrections spending and increase public safety.

California voters sent mixed messages on two ballot measures related to criminal justice, passing a measure that modifies the state's harsh three-strikes law, while rejecting a measure to eliminate the state's seldom-used death penalty.

Next week, Californians will have the opportunity to revisit two major criminal justice issues previously enacted by ballot initiative: the death penalty and the three-strikes sentencing law. 

Seven states profiled in a new brief from The Council of State Governments Justice Center’s National Reentry Resource Center have reported significant reductions in recidivism in recent years.

Franny Holland knows what it’s like to have to start over. She also knows what it’s like for someone to throw her a life preserver. Holland was serving a prison sentence in California in the late '90s and had been a heroin user for 20 years. After she was released, she said, God gave her exactly what she needed—the world’s meanest probation officer. He sent her to a rehab program for six months, where she discovered she also was bipolar. The Oklahoma Collaborative Mental Health Re-entry Program tries to throw a life preserver to people like Holland. The program is one of the 2012 Innovations Awards winners from The Council of State Governments.

The Georgia Department of Corrections had a problem with probation two years ago. It was upside down, with the majority of officers managing the probationers who were least likely to reoffend.  Of the 105,000 offenders on active probation in Georgia, more than 80,000 of them are deemed low risk and not likely to reoffend. They had to find a more efficient way to handle the high volume of low-risk offenders to free up more officers to provide better case management for higher risk offenders. Technology was the key.