White pillars at a court house

Crime rates and Alaska criminal justice reform

Crime rates and Alaska criminal justice reform

Decades of research show that longer prison terms do not reduce crime rates or recidivism. Research also shows that that non-custodial sanctions are often equally effective—sometimes more effective—at reducing recidivism than incarceration. Provisions of SB91 include, but are not limited to, a focus on using prison beds for serious and violent offenders and diverting nonviolent misdemeanor offenders to alternatives; revising penalties to focus on the most severe punishments for higher level offenders; strengthening probation and parole supervision, and emphasizing swift, certain and proportional incentives to comply.