Maine

Background

In 2019, Maine faced a number of pressing public safety challenges. Despite having the nation’s second-lowest incarceration rate and a steady decline in overall reported crime, Maine’s prison population had increased in recent years, particularly for women, and probation revocations accounted for more than 40 percent of prison admissions. In the summer of 2019, Maine used a Justice Reinvestment approach to address these challenges. Staff from the CSG Justice Center provided technical assistance by collecting and analyzing data and helping develop appropriate policy options to contain corrections spending and increase public safety. The Justice Reinvestment effort was guided by the interbranch Commission on the Sentencing, Supervision, Incarceration and Management of Offenders.

Policies

In 2020, Legislative Request (LR) 3256 was introduced and contained the commission’s recommended policy options. While action on some parts of the bill were still pending, the legislature adjourned early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all bills not directly related to Governor Janet Mills’s omnibus budget or support for COVID-19 were not heard. LR 3256 was not carried over when the legislature convened its next session.¹

For more information, see Justice Reinvestment in Maine.

¹ The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2023, Justice Reinvestment in Maine, New York, NY: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, retrieved May 17, 2023 from https://csgjusticecenter.org/projects/justice-reinvestment/past-states/maine/.