What is the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI)? 

According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) at the US Department of Justice (DOJ)’s website: “Justice reinvestment is a data-driven approach to improve public safety, examine corrections and related criminal justice spending, manage and allocate criminal justice populations in a more cost-effective manner, and reinvest savings in strategies that can hold offenders accountable, decrease crime, and strengthen neighborhoods.  JRI was launched in 2010 as a public-private partnership between BJA and The Pew Charitable Trusts.  It provides technical assistance to states and localities as they collect and analyze data on drivers of criminal justice populations and costs, identify and implement changes to increase efficiencies, and measure both the fiscal and public safety impacts of those changes.”

BJA has more background on justice reinvestment throughout the nation.