By Erin Thorvaldson and Kendric Holder

In 2015, Rhode Island had the country’s second-highest probation population rate, with high probation revocation rates and lengthy probation terms contributing to an increasing prison population. To address these challenges, Rhode Island requested support through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). As a result of JRI, Rhode Island amended the superior court’s Rules of Criminal Procedure and Sentencing Benchmarks in 2016, limiting probation periods for nonviolent offenses to 3 years and allowing for early termination of probation for people satisfying specified requirements. Subsequently, 6 JRI bills were passed in 2017. Among other things, these new laws and amendments to the superior court’s Rules of Criminal Procedure and Sentencing Benchmarks created policies that centered on reducing the prison population, launching a diversion program with an alternative to traditional conviction and sentencing, and screening cases for eligibility for early discharge from probation. This brief highlights the results of these measures.

New York: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2024. 5p.

By Erin Thorvaldson and Kendric Holder

In 2016, Georgia used the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) to focus on community supervision, as the state had the highest rate of adults on probation in the country. The JRI analysis showed that Georgia’s large probation population was due to widespread use of probation sentences for misdemeanor offenses, as well as lengthy felony probation sentences that were used in lieu of and in addition to prison sentences. Additionally, an estimated 50,000 people in Georgia had been on supervision for more than 2 years, despite the risk of recidivism dropping by half after an individual’s first year on supervision. In 2017, the governor signed Act 226, codifying the JRI policy framework. It featured policies to reduce lengthy probation terms and large probation caseloads, enhance the cost-effectiveness of responses to probation and parole violations, and improve the handling of legal and financial obligations for people on felony probation. This brief explores the effects of this legislation.

New York: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2024. 5p.