Giving Compass' Take:

• Urban Institute discusses how governments can equitably and effectively manage criminal justice budgets during the COVID-19 economic recession.

• What can we do to learn from previous criminal justice budgets to responsibly allocate funds during COVID-19? 

• Take a closer look at the successes and failures of criminal justice reform.

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting recession are putting an enormous strain on state and local governments. Beyond the well-known difficulties states and localities face in recessions and the challenges of managing a public health emergency, leaders managing this crisis must also grapple with how to address an upwelling of protest and discontent over police violence, inequity in the administration of criminal justice, and what communities spend on these programs.

Already, several governors are calling for across-the-board cuts exceeding 10 percent in the current fiscal year, and three-fourths of municipalities have made spending cuts, with many resorting to across-the-board reductions. More and deeper cuts are likely still on the way, especially without additional federal aid.

If forced to cut, governments should try to avoid blunt measures. Simply reducing criminal justice employees by seniority could reverse prior reforms aimed at diversifying the workforce. And cutting one department or agency without understanding the effects on another could exacerbate future fiscal problems.

Then there are larger conversations about criminal justice reform. Though proposals for police reform span a continuum, one thing is clear: simply reducing spending across the board is not reform. Even with ample opportunities to shift funds across criminal justice programs, achieving reform goals could require more funding—just to different types of resources or programs.

One promising solution: community-based programs representing holistic, comprehensive approaches to public safety. These evidence-based programs are relatively cheap compared with traditional crime-control responses. In fact, fiscal austerity could prompt efforts to enhance investment in communities by providing more resources for community-led safety programs, better addressing underlying needs and equity gaps, and spurring local employment opportunities.

Read the full article about criminal justice budgets at Urban Institute.