Idaho
JRI Year: 2014
2014
Background
In 2012, Idaho’s crime rate was among the lowest in the nation, but recidivism had increased between 2008 and 2012. Idaho’s prison population was projected to increase 16 percent between 2014 and 2019. From 2013 to 2014, the state used a JRI approach with technical assistance from the CSG Justice Center to address these issues.
Policies
State policymakers enacted Justice Reinvestment legislation in 2014. Among other things, the law strengthened supervision practices and programs designed to reduce recidivism and expanded limited supervision caseloads for people who are assessed as least likely to reoffend and have complied with supervision conditions. The law also tailored sanctions for supervision violations, provided recidivism information at sentencing, structured parole to make more productive use of prison space, and increased the number of people released to parole supervision. Additionally, the law called for assessing, tracking, and ensuring the impact of recidivism-reduction strategies, all of which resulted in several policy and practice changes.1
Outcomes
Because of the legislation, Idaho was able to decrease the prison population during a time when significant increases had been projected. Between July 2014 and December 2015, Idaho lowered the prison population by 3 percent, housing 880 fewer individuals as of December 2015. The state avoided having to incur construction costs and also saved approximately $14 million thanks to reduced bed needs.2 As a result of these savings, $1.8 million was returned to Idaho’s General Fund, the Idaho Department of Corrections was able to close a unit at their Correctional Center, and all individuals housed in out-of-state prisons were returned to serve their incarceration in Idaho.3
For more information, see Justice Reinvestment in Idaho.
JRI-Driven Policies and Practices
- Revise parole hearings/decision/eligibility standards
- Establish/expand earned discharge (probation/parole)
- Authorize administrative jail sanctions
- Authorize/develop/modify graduated responses or matrices for violations
- Cap revocation time
- Require/improve risk-needs assessment
- Improve behavioral health interventions
- Require data collection/performance measures
- Improve restitution/victim notification
- Establish/extend oversight council
1 The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2023, Justice Reinvestment in Idaho, New York, NY: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, retrieved May 17, 2023 from https://csgjusticecenter.org/projects/justice-reinvestment/past-states/idaho/.
2 The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2023, Idaho, New York, NY: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, retrieved May 17, 2023 from https://csgjusticecenter.org/states/idaho/.
3 Ibid.