Baton Rouge, LA- Proving ongoing commitment to the four goals of Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) and making meaningful reforms to the state’s criminal justice system, Right on Crime Louisiana State Director Scott Peyton breaks down Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Reforms 2020 Annual Performance Report.

Peyton, a member of Louisiana’s Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council, breaks down the promising data:

  • The release of the 2020 JRI Annual Report shows continued progress towards the four main goals of the 2017 JRI Reforms.
    • Focus prison beds on serious threats to public safety
    • Strengthen community supervision
    • Remove barriers to successful re-entry
    • Reinvest savings
  • Highlights of the report: 35% reduction in non-violent prison population; 18.2% decrease in caseload sizes for probation and parole officers; $17 million dollars in savings; 29 million savings total; and continued re-investment into community programming and diversion programs.
  • Over 1.5 million dollars paid out to victims of crime through the previously backlogged crime victim’s reparations fund.
  • Community incentive grants totaling 2.4 million dollars annually for the next three years awarded to community organizations in seven Louisiana parishes.
  • The 2023 report will provide data to determine if any progress has been made in the 5-year rate of recidivism.

“It is critical that the annual reports and oversight of the 2017 Justice Reinvestment Initiative Reforms are timely, accurate and transparent,” said Peyton. “This is 2019 data, and we are anticipating a 2021 performance report with 2020 data soon.”

Peyton adds that more work needs to be done to continue ensuring transparency and accountability in how JRI funds are being spent.  He says Louisiana should establish a benchmark to identify effectiveness of the programming.

As a member of the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Council, Peyton notes the council has not met since December 2019 and should convene before the end of 2021 to discuss the newly released annual report.

“We must continue protecting victims, reducing our state’s over-reliance on incarceration and ensuring a pathway for successful reentry of individuals who seek a second-chance at re-integrating into society,” said Peyton. “The results to-date are promising and headed in the right direction.”

Scott Peyton, Louisiana Director of Right on Crime, is a former probation and parole officer, and an influential criminal justice reform advocate in Louisiana.

Right on Crime is a national initiative of the Texas Public Policy Foundation supporting conservative solutions for reducing crime, restoring victims, reforming offenders, and lowering taxpayer costs.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact Tonya Kerr at 512-300-3767 or [email protected]

Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin that aims to foster human flourishing by protecting and promoting liberty, opportunity, and personal responsibility.