Issue Position: Criminal Justice Reform/Reinvestment

Issue Position

Rhode Island has the nation's third highest percentage of residents on probation. In 2013, RI had 2,737 probationers for every 100,000 adult residents. In 2014, the rate of Providence adults on probation was one in twenty-one (1 in 21). However, only eight percent (8%) of the RI public safety budget goes toward probation and parole services. The resources to monitor and assist probationers in their re-entry are simply stretched too thin. While we must use our dollars efficiently and sustainably, investing wisely in the criminal justice system is key to public welfare.

In 2015, Governor Gina Raimondo created a Justice Reinvestment Working Group. The working group included members of the judiciary, the corrections system, law enforcement, the public defender's office, legislators and community advocates. The group was tasked to examine the criminal justice system in order to identify ways to save money, to move towards an outcome- oriented system, and to better help people reintegrate into the community.

The bill came together with input from many sides. Those in the judiciary made sure to retain their discretion in sentencing. Prosecutors did not want prosecution of criminals to be made more difficult or sentences too lenient. Defense attorneys, representatives of our corrections system, and individuals who'd been through the system all had opinions as well. In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the enthusiastic and near unanimous support of every detail was remarkable.

This year I introduced one of the six bills that came out of that group effort. The bill amends criminal justice law to more accurately reflect the seriousness of certain crimes. It clarifies and revises the definitions of and penalties for felony, misdemeanor, petty misdemeanor, larceny, assault, and stolen property crimes. In cases of theft, it bases definition and penalties on the value of the property stolen. None of the six bills were passed this year; I look forward to continuing the effort in January 2017. Going forward, my efforts will focus on ensuring that penalties accurately and fairly match the crime and reflect the interests of the community, including victims.

Finally, the reintegration of formerly incarcerated people back into our communities -- and into healthy, working lives -- is crucial. This process of reform and reintegration is worthy of our investment. For most people in the system, there is life after the sentence. So we all have an interest in ensuring the success of those lives after time served.

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