2017 -- S 0997

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LC002955

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2017

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT ALL BRANCHES OF STATE GOVERNMENT

CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE ON POLICY ACTIONS AND INVESTMENTS TO

IMPLEMENT THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE JUSTICE

REINVESTMENT INITIATIVE FACILITATED BY THE COUNCIL OF STATE

GOVERNMENTS JUSTICE CENTER

     Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Goodwin, and Lynch Prata

     Date Introduced: June 29, 2017

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island state leaders from all three branches of government requested

technical assistance in analyzing and making policy recommendations on the state’s criminal

justice system. In preparing its analyses, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center

reviewed an extensive amount of data from multiple state agencies and spoke with nearly 300

individuals, agencies, and organizations to help guide and inform an understanding of policies

and practices in Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, The study revealed that people sentenced to post-release probation serve

terms that are three times longer than the national average; that two out of three people on

probation in the state have already served more than three years, after which time recidivism

declines significantly; and as a result of the exceptionally large number of people on probation

and the lengthy terms they are serving, probation officers are overwhelmed and are unable to

provide meaningful supervision that reduces recidivism and improves public safety; and

     WHEREAS, The following descriptions and purposes are important principles for

criminal sentencing:

     Probation is a period of supervision that should be imposed for the period of time when

     the probationer’s risk of recidivism is the greatest, because probation is more capable of

     reducing recidivism than incarceration is; and the purpose of probation is to reduce the

     likelihood that the probationer will engage in criminal conduct, hold the probationer

     accountable, and ensure that the probationer complies with the court’s judgment;

     A suspended sentence is a sentence that the court imposes for a set period of time, the

     execution of which is suspended, to allow a defendant to perform a period of probation;

     and the purpose of a suspended sentence is to set an appropriate term of potential

     imprisonment that the defendant may be required to serve in the form of revocation or

     sanction for violations of probation;

     Because a suspended sentence results in a criminal conviction and all of its collateral

     consequences, whereas probation does not, a suspended sentence should only be used in a

     situation where a conviction is deemed necessary and appropriate; and

     Imprisonment is a punishment through deprivation of liberty, and that imprisonment

     should be imposed only when necessary as punishment, or for public safety, or as a

     sanction for a serious probation violation, and in any case for the shortest term necessary

     to achieve the particular purpose; and

     WHEREAS, The study revealed that in FY 2015, felony probation violators served an

average of 10.5 months for technical violations and 13 months for new charges, while

misdemeanor probation violators served approximately 2 months for either technical or new

offense violations, on average; and

     WHEREAS, Incentives and sanctions should be used to motivate compliance and

positive behavior by people under supervision according to research showing the behavior-

change potential of incentives for compliance, along with swift, certain, and proportionate

sanctions for violations; and

     WHEREAS, Sanctions should be considered with recognition that behavior change, in

particular for people with behavioral health challenges such as addiction or mental illness, is a

gradual process, punctuated by relapse, rather than with an expectation of total compliance at all

times; and

     WHEREAS, In response to these and other challenges, the CSG Justice Center, in

collaboration with the Rhode Island Justice Reinvestment Working Group, developed a proposal

to modernize sentencing and probation supervision policies; strengthen probation practices and

the quality of community-based programs to reduce recidivism; and assess and divert people at

the pretrial stage, when appropriate; and

     WHEREAS, Rhode Island's state leaders agreed that high rates of failure among

probationers in the state are costly and undermine public safety; and

     WHEREAS, Although the CSG Justice Center worked collaboratively with the Rhode

Island Justice Reinvestment Working Group, the group did not vote to endorse the policy

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framework, and although the policy framework has been put forth to the General Assembly for

their consideration, the CSG Justice Center is aware that any resulting legislation may include

compromises, meaning some policy options may be altered or not adopted; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully requests that all branches of state government continue to collaborate on

policy actions and investments to implement the findings and recommendations of the Rhode

Island Justice Reinvestment Project facilitated by the Council of State Governments Justice

Center; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Gina Raimondo, Governor of the

State of Rhode Island, and the Honorable Paul A. Suttell, Chief Justice of the Rhode Island

Supreme Court.

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