A critical analysis of justice reinvestment in the United States and Australia

The U.S. and Australia are in different phases with regard to justice re-investment (JRI) strategies and implementation efforts. The results from the U.S. appear equivocal and disappointing with regard to reducing the numbers of the incarcerated population. With no significant decline in prison numbers there are no savings in prison budgets to invest funds in targeted communities, from which many prisoners are drawn. Australia should not be directed by the JRI experience of the U.S. The primary problem for Australia is not so much its incarceration numbers. Compared to the U.S., the prison as a punishment appears to be a more of a sentence of last resort. The key problem for JRI advocates, however, is that Indigenous Australians are grossly over-represented in prison populations and disadvantage in communities from where they reside requires national attention. Both countries require a clear conceptualization of JRI. Without a critical rethink, JRI might have a legacy as yet another "reform" that has failed to reduce mass incarceration