Change in Idaho’s Criminal Justice System Sees Results

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho officials are excited about a sea-change in the state's approach to criminal justice.

The state had one of the highest incarceration rates in the country in 2013, with a prison population that was expected to jump 16 percent over the next five years. The Idaho Statesman reports that officials were considering spending $288 million on a new prison. Instead, Idaho opted into a national program that analyzed what was driving the state's incarceration problems.

It found Idaho could avoid building the prison by beefing up community-based supervision programs for nonviolent offenders. The five-year goal is a 1 percent drop in the prison population — as opposed to the projected 16 percent increase.