A Critical Analysis of Justice Reinvestment in the United States and Australia

Abstract

The U.S. and Australia are in different phases with regard to justice re-investment (JRI) strategies and implementation efforts. The results from the U.S. appear equivocal and disappointing with regard to reducing the numbers of the incarcerated population. With no significant decline in prison numbers there are no savings in prison budgets to invest funds in targeted communities, from which many prisoners are drawn. Australia should not be directed by the JRI experience of the U.S. The primary problem for Australia is not so much its incarceration numbers. Compared to the U.S., the prison as a punishment appears to be a more of a sentence of last resort. The key problem for JRI advocates, however, is that Indigenous Australians are grossly over-represented in prison populations and disadvantage in communities from where they reside requires national attention. Both countries require a clear conceptualization of JRI. Without a critical rethink, JRI might have a legacy as yet another “reform” that has failed to reduce mass incarceration.

Keywords:

• justice re-investment
• U.S. prisons
• Australian prisons
• Indigenous Australians
• crime prevention

Acknowledgments

Much of this paper is derived from a recent report entitled Ending Mass Incarceration: Charting a New Justice Re-investment (April 2013) which was coauthored by one of the writers of this article. Those who coauthored that paper were Eric Cadora, Todd Clear, Kara Dansky, Judith Greene, Marc Maurer, Nicole Porter, Susan Tucker, Malcolm Young, and Vanita Gupta. For the material provided on Australia's imprisonment rates we acknowledge research work undertaken by Eve Lundmark-Bourke at James Cook University, Townsville.

Color versions of one or more figures in the article can be found online at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/UVAO.

Notes

1. The JR initiative states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Within this group, 18 have enacted JR legislation: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, and Vermont.

2. The 11 states are Arizona, Connecticut, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont.

3. The 14 states where official forecasts were secured are Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.