CRIMINAL JUSTICE
REFORM
Recidivism has increased by 8%
Taxpayers aren’t getting the system they deserve
In 2015 Utah passed the Justice Reinvestment Initiative to decrease Utah’s prison population and save taxpayers $542 million in corrections spending while reducing crime rates and making our streets safer.
Unfortunately, five years later only 1/5th of the original plan has been implemented. As a result, recidivism rates have increased by 8% and Utah is at risk for consistent cost increases in our criminal justice system.
Between courts, county sherrifs, city police departments, and multiple state agencies Utah has over 30 independent organizations working on law enforcement issues. Each of these agencies are a “data silo,” meaning that they do not share the data they collect or they do not collect crucial data at all. Without that data we cannot make cost-efficient decisions nor do we have a transparent system.
esaving healthcare that they need.
POLICY FOCUSES
Prosperity Utah plans to create a data-driven and results-oriented criminal justice system by implementing the following measures
- Establishing a statewide information sharing ecosystem by requiring the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and the Commision on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to track all necessary data and report it annually to the legislature.
- Require DSAMH to track various treatment programs success rates to identify which approaches are most successful at rehabilitating criminal offenders.
- Establish local Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils to facilitate data sharing with agencies at the “tip of the spear” in law enforcement.
Utah needs to fully implement the Justice Reinvestment Initiative
