Frye: Bill Would Give More Tools To Combat Jail Overcrowding

"I remain committed to helping address this complex issue and providing more tools to address jail overcrowding."

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Crowded jails continue to impact local budgets across the state and divert money away from other investments like infrastructure and education. Jail overcrowding also affects our entire criminal justice system, from prosecutors and courts to judges and law enforcement. According to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute's latest data, 77% of Indiana's jails are overcrowded or at capacity. This session, I am authoring legislation to continue building on our efforts combating jail overcrowding.

House Enrolled Act 1068 would bring local criminal justice stakeholders together to bolster our statewide database by collecting more, area-specific data from jails and rehabilitation programs. The data will help leaders spot trends and better tailor programs to curb recidivism, which is one of the largest contributors to jail overcrowding. With robust data, communities could be more strategic in implementing programs based on their needs, like increasing work release opportunities, addiction counseling and mental health services.

Local or regional justice reinvestment advisory councils would be established to review criminal justice systems, policies and procedures. Counties will have the option of using their community corrections board as their JRAC board or they can combine their resources with nearby counties and create a regional JRAC. Indiana's statewide JRAC brings together prosecutors, public defenders, judges, mental health professionals and law enforcement to give the legislature recommendations on jail overcrowding. In past sessions, the General Assembly worked with JRAC on implementing more court diversion programs and creating a statewide database to look at who is in jail, why they are incarcerated and how long they will or have been behind bars.

I remain committed to helping address this complex issue and providing more tools to address jail overcrowding. After receiving broad support in the Indiana House of Representatives and Indiana Senate, House Enrolled Act 1068 is eligible to be signed into law by the governor. To learn more, visit iga.in.gov.