A Maryland panel examining criminal justice reform is going to focus on making changes in three major areas.
The Maryland Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council met Friday in Annapolis.
The panel is dividing up into three groups. One will focus on sentencing practices, alternatives to incarceration and sentence lengths.
Another will work on prison release and re-entry, including parole practices. A third group will work on probation and parole practices.
The panel has been using a data-driven approach to develop a statewide framework of sentencing and corrections policies to reduce Maryland's incarcerated population and control corrections spending. It will make recommendations to state leaders in December.
The state has been getting technical assistance from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
