Authority: Title 2.1, Chapter 5.3 and § 2.1-51.10:1, Code of Virginia.

A. The Secretary shall present a report on strategies to improve Virginia's criminal justice information systems, including steps to improve data collection and reporting, program evaluation, and offender population forecasting. The report shall include consideration of methods for improving data collection on, and projections of, pre-trial detention populations in jails and the impact of legislative changes affecting this population, and for determining the effectiveness of pre-trial diversion programs. Copies of the report shall be presented to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by October 1, 1996.

B. The Secretary shall present revised juvenile and state and local responsibility adult offender population forecasts through fiscal year 2002 to the Governor, the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, and the Chairmen of the House and Senate Courts of Justice Committees by October 1, 1996, and through fiscal year 2003 by October 1, 1997.

C. The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Administration, shall present a plan to coordinate the use of state, regional, and local adult and juvenile correctional facility capacity. The plan shall identify potential surplus capacity which could be utilized for other correctional purposes to meet essential needs for secure facilities, while minimizing the need for new construction and reducing long-term costs. Copies of the plan shall be presented to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committee by October 1, 1996.

D. The Secretary of Public Safety, in consultation with the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, shall update the January 11, 1995, "Plan for Community-Based Sanctions: 1995-2005," to determine the extent to which non-violent offenders may be diverted to community corrections over the ten-year period 1996-2006. Copies of the plan shall be presented to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees by November 15, 1996. At minimum, the plan shall:

1. Detail the feasibility and appropriateness of programs, facilities, services, and costs necessary to divert to alternative punishment programs, in a manner consistent with public safety and consistent with the risk assessment instrument to be developed by the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission, up to 25 percent of minimum security, nonviolent offenders who would otherwise be incarcerated in state and local correctional facilities by fiscal year 2006;

2. Detail the feasibility and appropriateness of programs, services, and costs necessary to reduce the unsentenced pretrial population of minimum security, nonviolent offenders in jails by fiscal year 2006; and

3. Detail the estimated state and local correctional capital and operating cost avoidance from the implementation of the proposals identified in paragraphs 1 and 2.