Justice Reinvestment
in Wisconsin
Reducing Spending on
Corrections and Reinvesting in
Strategies to Increase Public Safety

Background

I

n 2008, Governor James Doyle,
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson,
Senate President Fred Risser, and
Speaker of the House Michael Huebsch
requested technical assistance from
the Council of State Governments
Justice Center (“Justice Center”) to help
develop a statewide policy framework
to reduce spending on corrections and
reinvest in strategies to increase public
safety in Wisconsin.	
The Justice Center is a national,
nonpartisan organization that works
with state policymakers to analyze data
and develop fiscally sound, data-driven
strategies. Assistance is made possible

through funding support provided
by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, a
component of the U.S. Department of
Justice, the Public Safety Performance
Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts’
Center on the States, and the State of
Wisconsin.
In January 2009, the Wisconsin
Legislative Council established
the Special Committee on Justice
Reinvestment Oversight, a bipartisan,
bicameral, and inter-branch advisory
group, to guide the Justice Center’s
analyses of the state’s criminal justice
system and development of policy
options.

Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin

1

Snapshot of Crime, Recidivism, and
Corrections Trends in Wisconsin
Whereas the number of reported violent crimes
has remained generally stable in the Midwest
and across the nation, the number of violent
crimes in Wisconsin has increased over the past
seven years.

•	 In 2007, more than half (55 percent) of the people
occupying state prisons were incarcerated because
they had failed to comply with the conditions of
community supervision or because they had committed a new crime while under supervision.7

•	 Between 2000 and 2007, the number of reported violent crimes in Wisconsin increased by 28
percent.1,2

The state prison population is projected to
continue to increase.

•	 Over this seven-year period, aggravated assaults
increased by the largest margin (32 percent)
among the violent offenses listed under the FBI
Uniform Crime Reports.3

•	 From 2008 to 2019, the state prison population
is projected to grow from 22,500 to 28,019, an
increase of 25 percent.8

•	 Elsewhere, however, aggravated assaults decreased:
they declined three percent in the Midwest and six
percent nationally.4

State spending on corrections has risen
significantly in recent years; additional prison
construction will be required to accommodate
growth in the prison population.

Between 2000 and 2007, Wisconsin’s prison
population grew 14 percent, driven largely by
an increase in the number of people who failed
on community supervision.5

•	 Between 1999 and 2009, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections’ budget grew from approximately $700 million to $1.2 billion, a 71 percent
increase.9

•	 Between 2000 and 2007, the number of admissions
for people who failed on community supervision
increased 40 percent, while the number of admissions for people who committed new offenses
decreased by 11 percent.6

•	 Between 2009 and 2019, Wisconsin will require
$2.5 billion to reduce overcrowding in the prison
system and accommodate growth in the population. This estimate includes $1.4 billion in new
construction costs and $1.1 billion in new operating costs.10

1. Violent crime, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is composed of four offenses:
murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault. See http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offenses/
violent_crime/index.html.

6. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, “Depot Update through
2007” (as of October 16, 2008), Internal analysis by Council of State
Governments Justice Center (February 2009); Wisconsin Department of
Corrections, Data request submitted to the Council of State Governments
Justice Center for analysis (December 2008).

2. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in
the United States, 2000 (September 2001). Retrieved February 10, 2009,
from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/00cius.htm; U.S. Department of Justice,
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Crime in the United States, 2007 (September 2008). Retrieved February 10, 2009, from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/
cius2007/index.html.

7. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Data request submitted to
the Council of State Governments Justice Center for analysis (December
2008).

3. Ibid.

9. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, personal communications to
the Council of State Governments Justice Center (March 6, 2009).

4. Ibid.
5. Wisconsin Department of Corrections, “Depot Update through 2007”
(as of October 16, 2008), Internal analysis by Council of State Governments Justice Center (February 2009).

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Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin

8. Naro Ware, Wendy, James Austin, and Roger Ocker. JFA Institute “Wisconsin Department of Corrections Ten-Year Prison Population Projections: 2009–2019.” March 2009.

10. Based on Wisconsin Department of Corrections budget estimates.

The Justice Center’s Three Phases of Assistance
With support from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Center on the States, the Bureau of Justice
Assistance, and the State of Wisconsin, the Justice Center and its expert consultants will
provide technical assistance to Wisconsin policymakers in three phases.

phase

1

Analysis and
Policy Development

The Justice Center will comprehensively analyze
Wisconsin’s prison, community corrections, crime,
and recidivism data. A system-wide examination
of the prison population and strategies currently
being employed by policymakers will be conducted.
Policymakers, who will be provided with geographic analyses of specific neighborhoods where
large number of individuals released from prison
return, will be better able to improve coordination
among agencies, community corrections, and law
enforcement.
To help develop policy options to address rising
rates of return to prison following both releases
from custody and discharge to community supervision, the Justice Center will analyze at-risk
populations. A health systems team will analyze
programs and services for people with behavioral
health needs who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Additionally, staff and expert
consultants will perform an assessment of current
employment programs for people under community supervision.
The Justice Center, under the guidance of the study
committee, will develop consensus-driven policy
options that increase public safety and address the
drivers of the growth in Wisconsin’s prison population and corrections expenditures.

phase

2

Policy Implementation

To ensure that policies are implemented effectively,
the Justice Center will provide technical assistance
to state agencies and perform regular assessments
of implementation progress. Policymakers will
therefore be able to identify necessary adjustments
to policies and strategies to ensure intended goals
are achieved.
In addition, the Justice Center will develop a dashboard tracking mechanism, or a set of indicators, to
measure the impact of newly enacted policies on
crime, court dispositions, jail populations, and the
prison population.

phase

3

Accountability
Strategies

Policymakers, with the assistance of regular presentations from the Justice Center, will put into effect
accountability measures for the multiple agencies
responsible for policy implementation. Continual
monitoring of the dashboard and other accountability
measures, including fiscal and public safety impact,
will help Wisconsin ensure that gains achieved are
sustained and savings generated are reinvested to
foster safer and stronger communities.

Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin

3

To learn more about the justice reinvestment strategy
in Wisconsin and other states, please visit:
www.justicereinvestment.org

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state,
and federal levels from all branches of government. The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven
strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities.

This project was supported by Grant No. 2008-DD-BX-0685
awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of
Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office for Victims of
Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those
of the author and do not represent the official position or
policies of the United State Department of Justice.
To learn more about the Bureau of Justice Assistance,
please visit: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/.

Research and analysis described in this report also have been
funded by the Public Safety Performance Project of The Pew
Charitable Trusts’ Center on the States. Launched in 2006 as
a project of the Pew Center on the States, the Public Safety
Performance Project seeks to help states advance fiscally
sound, data-driven policies and practices in sentencing
and corrections that protect public safety, hold offenders
accountable, and control corrections costs.
To learn more about the Public Safety Performance
Project, please visit: http://www.pewpublicsafety.org/.

Points of view, recommendations, or findings stated in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
official position or policies of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Council of
State Governments Justice Center, or the Council of State Governments’ members.
Suggested citation: Council of State Governments Justice Center, Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin: Reducing Spending on Corrections &
Reinvesting in Strategies to Increase Public Safety, (New York: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2009).

Council of State Governments
Justice Center
100 Wall Street
20th Floor
New York, NY 10005
tel:	 212-482-2320
fax:	 212-482-2344

4630 Montgomery Avenue
Suite 650
Bethesda, MD 20814
tel:	 301-760-2401
fax:	 240-497-0568

504 W. 12th Street
Austin, TX 78701
tel:	 512-482-8298
fax:	 512-474-5011

www.justicecenter.csg.org

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Justice Reinvestment in Wisconsin

project contact:
Marc Pelka
646-383-5720
mpelka@csg.org