The bills, known collectively as Justice Reinvestment
Initiative 2, are expected to reduce state prison populations by 600 inmates
over the next five years, saving taxpayers an estimated $48 million in
corrections costs.
“These important pieces of legislation will cut red tape,
reduce bureaucracy and result in savings of time and money,” Wolf said at a
ceremony Wednesday, where he was joined by a bipartisan cadre of lawmakers from
the House and Senate. “We will reinvest those savings into criminal justice
programs that reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and better serve
victims of crime.”
One bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Killion, R-Delaware, amends
state sentencing guidelines to make it easier for people with addiction to
enter State Intermediate Punishment. The diversionary sentencing program lets
people convicted of non-violent crimes that were motivated by drug or alcohol
addiction serve the majority of their sentences in treatment centers and in
their home communities.
Diana Woodside, policy director for the Department of
Corrections, told the committee that the program is “extremely underused” but
has “extraordinary outcomes.”
Between 2005 and 2006, more than 25,000 inmates in
Pennsylvania “appeared eligible” for state intermediate punishment, according
to a Corrections department report. But only about a quarter of all them
were referred for a program evaluation.
As a result, fewer than 5,600 inmates enrolled in the
program from 2005 to 2016. Each participant saved Pennsylvania more than
$33,000 in corrections costs. And its graduates had lower re-arrest rates than
comparable offenders in the general prison population.
Offenders sentenced to intermediate punishment serve a
maximum of 24 months, seven of which are spent in prison. They must also spend
time in out-patient treatment and community therapeutic centers before being
released into the community, where they’re monitored by Department of
Corrections staff.
Under current policy, an inmate can only enter the program
if they’re referred by a judge prior to sentencing and pass a Corrections
evaluation. Once that evaluation in complete, they’re referred back to a judge
for sentencing.
Killion’s proposal would
streamline that process. It would require sentencing judges to evaluate all
offenders to see if they meet the statutory requirements for the state
intermediate punishment program.
Judges would have to note the offender’s eligibility status
on their sentencing orders, and all who appear eligible will undergo an
enrollment evaluation once they’re in a Corrections facility. Offenders who
pass the evaluation will be admitted to the intermediate punishment program as
they begin to serve out their sentence.
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