Wisconsin
JRI Year: 2009
2009
Background
In 2008, Wisconsin’s prison population was expected to rise 25 percent over the coming decade, at a cost of $2.5 billion in new prison construction and operating expenses. More than half the people in state prison were there because they had failed to comply with the conditions of their supervision or because they had committed a new crime while under supervision.In 2008 and 2009, the CSG Justice Center worked with Wisconsin state leaders to develop a policy framework to address these issues.
Policies
Several Justice Reinvestment policies were adopted by the legislature in 2009 through the state’s budget appropriations bill, which created a “risk reduction” sentencing option to encourage individuals to complete programs in prison that are designed to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. In addition, the state reinvested $10 million over 2 years to expand community-based recidivism-reduction programs, including substance use treatment, employment services, and access to mental health care. Following the original enactment of Justice Reinvestment policies, Wisconsin leaders vetoed parts of the policy package.1
For more information, see Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin.
JRI-Driven Policies and Practices
- Improve behavioral health interventions
- Require data collection/performance measures
Other JRI-Funded Projects
The Wisconsin Department of Justice, in partnership with the CSG Justice Center, will make public-facing dashboards expanding on a statewide criminal justice data sharing project as well as work with statewide partners to identify applicable metrics and work toward their statewide implementation as part of the Justice Counts initiative.
1 The Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2023, Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin, New York, NY: The Council of State Governments Justice Center, retrieved May 19, 2023, from https://csgjusticecenter.org/projects/justice-reinvestment/past-states/wisconsin/.