NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.), and the U.S. Chamber Foundation will host the inaugural Criminal Justice Reform Summit on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Crown Plaza Executive Center, 4728 Constitution Ave., in Baton Rouge, LA from 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. With criminal justice reform expected to be a strong focus of the 2017 Legislative Session, the state’s business leaders will come together to discuss ways to drive down incarceration rates and lower costs, while simultaneously reducing recidivism and crime. Best practices and proven successes from other Southern states will be explored, testimonials from returning citizens will be shared, and potential solutions for challenges facing employers when hiring reentrants will be discussed.
The Problem: Exceptionally high levels of incarceration, high costs, and poor outcomes
• Louisiana locks up a larger share of its citizenry, more than any other state
• Louisiana is spending nearly $700 million per year on a corrections system that prioritizes prison beds while underfunding treatment, re-entry programs, and specialty courts
• One in three people who leave Louisiana’s prisons return within three years
The Path to a Solution: Louisiana leaders launch proven approach to reform
• Reducing levels of imprisonment, containing costs, and improving outcomes requires a comprehensive sentencing and corrections reform effort
• Louisiana’s legislative leaders and Governor have made sentencing and corrections reform a top priority for the 2017 Legislative Session
• They have established the Justice Reinvestment Task Force – a group of criminal justice experts and stakeholders – and charged it with taking a hard look at what is and isn’t working in Louisiana’s system, and making recommendations for change
• A reformed approach to sentencing and proper reinvestment of cost savings can not only lower costs, but better prepare offenders for reentry, improve public safety, reduce recidivism and prevent future victimization
View a full agenda with all panelists here
