Consensus Questions 14a, 14 b, and 14c are the final questions in the study and relate to funding for the criminal justice system, is broken into three sections. The first two sections ask whether the final sentence of the current position should be eliminated or edited to focus on community-based solutions and to provide treatment for those who have committed a crime, rather that incarcerate them. 14(c) asks whether programs should be evaluated periodically for their effectiveness in order to continue to receive funding.
Existing Position: Funding
• The League believes that the criminal justice system must be adequately funded in order to carry out its goals.
• Funding of specialized programs for offenders, such as mental health services, programs for female offenders and substance abuse treatment, is essential.
• The League supports funding to guarantee humane prison conditions and to provide programs and services that offer the opportunity for self improvement.
• The League believes that state funds should emphasize community-based sanctions over the construction of more prisons.
Consensus Questions:
14a and b. Should state funding emphasize community-based sanctions and treatment instead of incarceration, replacing the phrase "over the construction of more prisons" with "and treatment instead of incarceration"?
PRO: Whenever possible and appropriate, community-based corrections should be utilized. They provide superior outcomes for the community and the offender.
The Final Report of CJSR notes that “incarceration is costly, harsh, and in some cases, has a criminogenic effect on individuals, making them more likely to commit future crimes.” (p. 44.) “Adult Redeploy Illinois (ARI) was established by the Illinois Crime Reduction Act of 2009 (Public Act 96-0761) to provide financial incentives to local jurisdictions for programs that allow diversion of individuals from state prisons by providing community-based services.
"Administered by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, ARI provides grants to counties, groups of counties, and judicial circuits to increase programming in their areas, in exchange for reducing
the number of people they send to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
"The Crime Reduction Act is based on the premise that crime can be reduced and the costs of the criminal justice system can be controlled by understanding and addressing the reasons why people commit crimes. It also acknowledges that local jurisdictions know best what resources are necessary to reduce crime in their communities. Rigorous evaluation processes with standardized performance measurements are required to confirm the effectiveness of services in reducing crime."
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Community programs also offer treatment programs through problem-solving courts (PSC): “PSC are also known as specialty or therapeutic courts. PSC include, but are not limited to, drug, mental health, veterans, and DUI courts. They have developed nationally and in Illinois to provide an alternative forum for individuals in the criminal justice system who have behavioral health disorders, which include mental illness and substance use disorders. PSC utilize a collaborative, therapeutic approach with justice professionals partnering with community-treatment providers to address an individual’s underlying behavioral health issues.” Problem-Solving Court Standards CON: The sense of the position has not been altered. There is no “con.” 14c. Should all program funding be periodically evaluated for its effectiveness and to ensure that proper offender populations are being served? |
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PRO: Periodic evaluation is in accord with Recommendation 8 of The Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform: “Require all State agencies that provide funding for criminal justice programs to evaluate those programs. Agencies should eliminate those programs for which there is insufficient evidence of effectiveness and expand those that are proven effective. Ensure that programming appropriately targets and prioritizes offenders with high risk and needs. (Final Report of CJSR, p. 37.) CON: Won’t the people directly involved keep the programs that work and eliminate the ones that don’t work? Is this oversight necessary? |
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Final Report of CJSR, Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform
http://www.icjia.org/cjreform2015/index.html
Adult Redeploy Overview
https://icjia.illinois.gov/adultredeploy/about/overview
Performance Incentive Funding, Vera Institute of Justice
https://www.vera.org/projects/performance-incentive-funding
Supreme Court of Illinois, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, Problem-Solving Court Standards
https://courts.illinois.gov/Probation/Problem-Solving_Courts/P-SC_Standa...
If you would like more information on this question, please contact Hilary Denk, LWV of Downers Grove, Woodridge, Lisle at hdenk [at] lwvil.org.
