“Since I became Governor, I have worked hard to reform our system so that it leads to better outcomes and saves taxpayer dollars – while also leading to less crime and fewer victims,” Governor Wolf said. “These efforts are working, but we must continue towards building the criminal justice system we all want to see in Pennsylvania.”
Wednesday, Gov. Wolf joined Community Legal Services, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, legislators, stakeholders and advocates, to announce an initiative to help Pennsylvanians navigate the Clean Slate law.
“Clean Slate will help those who have committed low-level offenses and have paid their penalty get back on the path to a blemish-free record, removing potential roadblocks, including those to career success,” Gov. Wolf said. “This bill is the latest step in my administration’s efforts to make our commonwealth and our society safer by helping those who have offended put their lives back together.”
In addition to the Clean Slate announcement, Gov. Wolf pledged his continued support for criminal justice reforms, including to:
-- Pass and implement the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, or JRI 2, to address the high cost of incarceration in the state, to strengthen support for county probation programs, and to fix inadequate sentencing guidelines.
-- Reform the pre-trial system to make certain that those accused of a crime have access to competent legal counsel and a reasonable bail system.
-- Reform the post-trial criminal justice system to ensure work towards rehabilitation of individuals and preparation to reenter society, rather than creating further risks for recidivism.
-- Focus on probation reform to ensure the right individuals have the right level of supervision and technical probation violations do not mean an immediate return to incarceration. This works hand-in-hand with first ensuring sentences are commensurate with the severity of crimes committed.
Click Here for the full announcement and a list of criminal justice reforms enacted so far.
