By David Weisburd, Kevin Petersen, Cody W. Telep, Sydney A. Fay

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis examining whether increasing preventive patrol in large areas reduces crime. Our review included experimental and quasi-experimental studies that focused on areas such as beats, precincts, or entire jurisdictions and that measured a crime outcome either through official data or surveys. We identified 17 studies to include in our review. We used two methods for assessing study impacts: an approach which identified a primary/general outcome measure and a second approach which used robust variance estimation (RVE) and included all effect sizes across each study. Both approaches showed small crime prevention benefits (RVE: 9% decline; primary/general: 6% decline), but only the RVE model was significant at conventional levels (p < 0.05). There was no significant evidence of displacement. Moderator analyses suggest that as dosage increases so do the crime prevention impacts. In RVE models, preventive patrol was associated with significant reductions in property and violent crime, but nonsignificant increases in drug and disorder offenses.

Policy implications

Increasing preventive patrol activities has the potential to reduce crime in large administrative areas. At the same time, existing studies offer little guidance as to how such preventive patrol should be carried out. Deterrence theory, as well as evidence from studies of hot spots policing, suggests that the greatest benefits will be gained from informing patrol efforts about where and when crime occurs. Although more research is needed regarding patrol allocations in large areas, present knowledge suggests that the more such patrols can be targeted at specific places at specific times, the greater will be the crime control benefits. In this context, we argue that police agencies may want to apply a hybrid approach to police patrol, which would include a combination of hot spots policing units and general patrol units informed by data on where crime is concentrated.Criminology & Public Policy, early view, April 2024.

By Sonia L. Robinson, Christopher D. McCort, Colette Smirniotis, Garen J. Wintemute & Hannah S. Laqueur 

Background

Firearm violence is a major cause of death and injury in the United States. Tracking the movement of firearms from legal purchase to use in crimes can help inform prevention of firearm injuries and deaths. The last state-wide studies analyzing crime gun recoveries used data from over 20 years ago; thus, an update is needed.

Methods

We used data for 5,247,348 handgun and 2,868,713 long gun transactions and law enforcement recoveries from California crime gun recovery (2010–2021) and California’s Dealer Records of Sales records. Covariates included characteristics of dealership sales, firearms and their transactions, and purchaser’s demographic characteristics, purchasing history, criminal history (from firearm purchaser criminal history records), and neighborhood socioeconomic status. Analyses for handguns and long guns was conducted separately. In multivariable analysis, we included correlates into a Cox proportional hazard model accounting for left truncation and clustering between the same firearm, purchaser, dealerships, and geographic location. Covariates that remained significant (P < 0.05) were retained. For handguns, we evaluated associations of violent and weapons crimes separately. In supplementary analyses, we examined interactions by purchasers’ race and ethnicity.

Results

In total, 38,441 handguns (0.80%) and 6,806 long guns (0.24%) were recovered in crimes. A firearm dealer’s sales volume, percent of transactions that were denials, pawns, pawn redemptions, and firearms that became crime guns were each positively associated with firearm recovery in crime. Handguns that were inexpensive, larger caliber, and that had been reported lost or stolen were positively associated with recovery in crimes. Purchaser characteristics associated with crime gun recovery included: being younger, female, Black, Hispanic, Native American or Pacific Islander, or other race/ethnicity (vs white), having previous arrests, living in close proximity to the firearm dealership, and living in a more socially vulnerable census tract. Associations with race and ethnicity were modified by previous infraction-only arrests.

Conclusions

This study confirms that many previously studied correlates of firearm recovery are still relevant today. We were able to expand on previous research by examining novel associations including purchasers’ criminal history and previous firearm transaction history. These results provide evidence that can be used to disrupt firearm use in crimes.

Inj. Epidemiol. 11, 8 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40621-024-00491-8

By Travis Carter, Scott Wolfe, Jed Knode, Grace Henry

Research Summary

We conducted a group randomized-controlled trial of an internal dashboard system deployed by the Michigan State Police to determine its effectiveness in reducing traffic stop racial disparities. Informed by a difference-in-differences design, analyses of traffic stop data from 2019–2022 indicated that the dashboard had no impact on traffic stop racial disparities. Additional analyses of traffic stops, crashes, and crime revealed that the dashboard had no “de-policing” effect on traffic patrols, nor were there any significant changes in traffic safety or crime in treatment patrol areas relative to control patrol areas. Qualitative analyses of interview data from more than 40 troopers in the agency revealed unique barriers to program implementation and opportunities for future improvement.

Policy Implications

In an era of policing where the capacity and demand for data-driven decision-making is on the rise, evidence-based policy and practice can provide police agencies with informed solutions for addressing traffic stop racial disparities. Yet, the increased demand for evidence-based reform is fueled by a relatively low supply of evidence-based research. This study adds to this evidence base by providing unique insights into the effectiveness of a program built specifically to reduce racial disparities in traffic stops, while also highlighting implementation challenges.

Criminology & Public Policy, 

05 April 2024 early view

By  Lauren Martin, Kayse Lee Maass, Kelle Barrick, Thomas Sharkey, Amy Farrell, Cynthia Matthias, Barış Tezcan, Martha Williams, Tonique Ayler, Teresa Forliti, Joy Friedman, Mikki Mariotti, Christine Nelson, Camille Brown, Melissa Florey

This study found that recruitment networks are structured by relationships and identified how, why, and when at least seven recruitment mechanisms (coercion and force, fraud, belonging, seduction, basic needs, glamorization, and normalization) are used and function. These results illuminate recruitment pathways and can be used to guide public investment and policy toward interventions with promise for preventing recruitment and promoting resilience against recruitment. This project used an innovative, transdisciplinary, and mixed methods approach to gather evidence about recruitment of victims into sex trafficking in order to develop conceptual and analytic models. The goal was to illuminate and understand the complex pathways of recruitment and re-recruitment, interventions and their cascading outcomes on recruitment into trafficking operations, the implications for victim wellbeing, and effects on broader society. This study focused on the state of Minnesota in order to develop a methodology and an approach within the context of one state to reduce logistical barriers and see if models worked. Through a mixed methods research approach that incorporated qualitative and computational modeling and centered lived-expertise from a survivor-centered advisory group, this study uncovered insights into the structure and function of sex trafficking recruitment. In addition to these descriptive and conceptual insights, the authors developed a computational mathematical model called a Markov Chain that models how a person’s susceptibility to being recruited and re-recruited into trafficking is affected by their ability to access services and supports. This model serves two purposes. First, it visualizes the complex recruitment and re-recruitment pathways that victims of trafficking experience from a systemic view of susceptibility. Second, the model can test the potential effectiveness of proposed interventions to prevent recruitment and re-recruitment. The Markov Chain could be used both to explore the effectiveness of current interventions and prospective interventions prior to implementation.

Final report to the National Institute of Justice, 2024. 91p.

By Bruce Taylor; Weiwei Liu

This study found that POP Only/POP for Youth proved to not be effective in the very difficult circumstances of this study; however, that does not preclude POP nor youth-focused POP from being effective under more typical conditions as seen in prior research. With funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the authors of this study designed and implemented a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the impact of two interventions on crime and related community and youth outcomes compared to a control condition, defined as standard patrol, in three mid-Atlantic cities within the same county. Both interventions trained and encouraged LEOs to apply a POP approach to address crime problems. The first intervention focused solely on POP (POP Only)/Pop for Youth development concepts on crime and police-youth relationship and interactions and the second intervention incorporated training for law enforcement agencies on POP and community engagement strategies, youth development, and strategies for positive police-youth interactions (POP for Youth). The overall purpose of the research is to test whether place-based proactive POP strategies combined with training for patrol LEOs in youth interactions and crime prevention can be implemented to achieve crime reduction and broader community/youth and officer benefits. This study had three main goals: (1) to examine the effectiveness of POP for Youth in reducing property and violent crime; (2) to assess the effect of the intervention on youth perceptions of police legitimacy, experience of LEO youth interactions, and feelings of safety; (3) to (qualitatively) assess the impact on LEO attitudes, knowledge and experience of interacting with youth.

Chicago: National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, , 2023. 28p.

By  Daniel J. O’Connell; Emalie Rell; Christy A. Visher; Ellen Donnelly

To address the problem of institutional conduct, especially violent misconduct, in prisons, this project tested whether an evidence-based, cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) program would reduce misconduct, including incidents of violent misconduct, and post-release arrests compared to non or less intensive CBT programming. The Delaware Department of Correction (DOC) implemented CBT-based programs in their institutions, which included the Cognitive Behavioral Interventions – Core Curriculum (CBI-CC) Thinking Things Through program developed at the University of Cincinnati. Three programs addressed in this report include Thinking Things Through (TTT), Road to Recovery (R2R), and Reflections. TTT consisted of the instruments and materials of the CBI-CC, whereas R2R and Reflections utilized general CBT skills and techniques. The Center for Drug and Health Studies (CDHS) in collaboration with DOC evaluated the impact of CBC-CC TTT using administrative records and surveys with program participants. Two major goals were identified: evaluating the efficacy of the current CBI-CC Thinking Things Through (TTT) treatment program being administered in all Delaware institutions; and validating the fidelity tool through collaboration with University of Cincinnati. A novel approach utilizing propensity weighting procedures to account for differences between groups was employed successfully in order to conduct the most robust set of analyses possible. The project was able to look across multiple programs and examine the impact on persons who were placed in them through the classification and referral process as it is conducted day-to-day in the DOC providing a much wider view of overall CBT programming than would have been possible under the original design. Findings indicate participation in programming had a significant impact on arrest and appears to have an impact on reincarceration. 

Newark, DE:  University of Delaware,, Center for Drug and Health Studies, 2024. 72p.

By Marcus Rogers

This study aimed to harness the potential of AI techniques and advancements to help the reintegration of justice-involved individuals (JII) into the community. The study centered on developing an AI-based system, referred to as the Support and Monitoring System for Community Supervision (SMS4CS), designed for the benefit of both JII and their case managers, focusing on aiding JII during their reentry into the community. The technology was seamlessly integrated into a functional community corrections environment, with no disruptions or reported interruptions to the day-to-day operations of the Tippecanoe County Community Corrections (TCCC). The technology enrollment process for participants (N = 35) and device setup achieved a remarkable 100% success rate. 

Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, 2024. 42p.

By Department of Investigation, Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD (OIG-NYPD) 

  New York City Charter, Chapter 34, Sections 803 and 808, require the Department of Investigation’s (“DOI”) Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD (“OIG-NYPD” or “the Office”) to develop recommendations relating to the discipline, training, and monitoring of police officers and related operations, policies, programs, and practices of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD” or “the Department”) by considering, among other things, “patterns or trends identified by analyzing actions, claims, complaints, and investigations” filed against NYPD. This Report, the fourth issued in connection with that law, examines NYPD’s use of overtime hours and how those overtime hours may impact the likelihood that litigation, claims, or complaints will be brought against the Department. OIG-NYPD examined the relationship between NYPD’s overtime hours and certain outcomes that are both measurable and direct sources of liability risk to the City.  These outcomes included lawsuits, substantiated Civilian Complaint Review Board (“CCRB”) complaints, substantiated NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau (“IAB”) complaints, workplace injuries, on-duty vehicle collisions, and uses of force resulting in Threat, Resistance, or Injury Interaction (“T.R.I.”) Reports.  These outcomes have been referred to as “negative policing outcomes" (“NPOs”), and this Report uses that term.  Each NPO poses risks of liability to the City because lawsuits, as well  as certain events that may lead to lawsuits and complaints, such as vehicle accidents, misconduct, or alleged uses of force, may result in liability to the City. Not only is each NPO a source of potential liability for the City, each NPO potentially costs the City time, money, and resources to address, whether or not the City ultimately is deemed liable for that outcome. Financial payments made by the City to litigants in settlements or as a result of court judgments are one measurement of the costs of these NPOs. In Fiscal Year 2022, there were 4,580 civil tort claims filed against NYPD. Of those claims, 62% alleged personal injury as a result of police action (which should result in the completion of a T.R.I. Report). Alleged personal injury or property damage due to NYPD motor vehicle accidents accounted for 9% and 13% of claims, respectively. Alleged misconduct, such as officers’ actions which may result in a CCRB or IAB complaint, is more difficult to quantify precisely. Lawsuits alleging civil rights violations by NYPD made up 9% of claims.8 Lawsuits alleging tort claims against NYPD resolved in Fiscal Year 2022 cost the City $237.2 million. Figures in 2021 were similar, though the overall number of tort claims were higher, and the resolution of lawsuits against NYPD cost the city $206.7 million in 2021.   

New York: 2023. 66p.

By Joseph Schafer, Captain Cory Nelson (ret.)

Since the mid-1990s, policing has struggled to recruit and retain quality applicants. Although many efforts have been made to alleviate this problem, the situation persists. This paper offers alternative suggestions for the policing profession to alleviate its recruitment and retention crisis. The authors argue that it is time to look beyond typical human resource recommendations to fix this problem. The profession needs to begin to experiment with more innovative solutions if it is going to achieve more complete and quality staffing outcomes. 

CNA, 2022. 48p.

By  Daniel S. Lawrence and Jessica Dockstader with Karen Solomon, Lewis Z. Schlosser, and Joe Willis (First H.E.L.P.)

Police and correctional officers (hereafter referred to as public safety personnel) routinely confront arduous and psychologically taxing circumstances that can adversely affect their mental and emotional health. In a thorough survey encompassing 2,232 law enforcement officers, Mumford and colleagues (2021) noted that although two-thirds displayed healthy behaviors, approximately one-fourth encountered moderate health challenges, and a minority (6 percent) grappled with more severe health issues. Similarly, a separate study conducted by Drew and Martin (2023) involving 3,994 officers found that 44 percent experienced psychological distress, such as depression and anxiety within the previous four weeks, and nearly a quarter of them experienced moderate to severe distress.

Extensive research highlights the profound repercussions of poor wellness characteristics among public safety personnel, including cognitive dissonance toward society, feelings of isolation, and diminished self-worth, which potentially increase the risk of suicide attempts or deaths by suicide (Civilotti et al., 2022; Newiss et al., 2022; Stogner et al., 2020; Violanti & Steege, 2021). Thoen et al. (2020) reported that 12.4 percent of surveyed police officers expressed a likelihood of future suicide attempts, with 13.2 percent acknowledging suicidal thoughts in the past year. Moreover, compared to the general population, law enforcement officers face a 54 percent higher risk of dying by suicide (Violanti & Steege, 2021), underscoring the critical need for comprehensive wellness programs and support structures within the field.

Despite extensive research into the correlates of public safety personnel deaths by suicide, all police and public safety professions are challenged by the absence of a systematic, national, and comprehensive data collection effort to fully grasp the extent of the problem (Dixon, 2021; Malik et al., 2023; NASEM, 2023). Recognizing the critical need for accurate data in this area, Congress enacted the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (LESDC) Act on June 16, 2020. Part of the LESDC Act mandates the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to establish a national data collection effort to seek incidental information on suicides, including gestures, ideation, and attempted suicides within the law enforcement community. However, initial federal efforts have been slow and have encountered numerous challenges.

The nonprofit organization First H.E.L.P. (Honor, Educate, Lead, Prevent) has been collecting data systematically since 2016 on deaths by suicide among public safety personnel. In late 2023, the CNA Corporation (hereafter “CNA”) initiated a partnership with First H.E.L.P. to undertake the first comprehensive analysis of its extensive dataset on public safety personnel deaths by suicide. This brief presents an overview of previous research and data collection endeavors related to public safety personnel deaths by suicide. It outlines the methodology employed by First H.E.L.P. for its data collection and offers descriptive insights into public safety personnel deaths by suicide. The results are organized according to the year of occurrence, agency information, geographical distribution, demographic attributes, position details, help-seeking behaviors, life challenges the person encountered before their death, and details about the death event.

Arlington VA: CNA, 2024. 29p.

By Daniel S. Lawrence and Benjamin Carleton

  In early 2023, the CNA Corporation, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, conducted comprehensive staff surveys in nine law enforcement agencies nationwide. These surveys encompassed personnel from all levels and roles within the agencies, including sworn officers as well as nonsworn professional staff. This report presents a detailed analysis of the written responses gathered in response to a specific survey question. This question requested respondents to articulate the factors contributing to the deterioration of their mental and emotional well-being, both in their personal lives and within the context of their work. A total of 993 responses underwent a meticulous review process, resulting in the categorization of comments into 37 distinct categories, which were further consolidated into six overarching topical areas. The first three of these topical areas focused on various facets of the work environment, including leadership and supervision, other workplace-related stressors, and workplace culture. The two subsequent areas delved into the realm of the individual's private life, examining aspects of personal life stressors and mental health. The final topical area centered on stressors originating from the public that affected the respondents' lives and work. This report provides insights into the specific stressors identified by this cross-section of law enforcement staff. It also highlights variations in the mentions of topical areas across different demographic and positional characteristics, including statistically significant differences where applicable. In conclusion, the report presents policy recommendations aimed at enhancing the overall quality of life and the effectiveness of work for law enforcement personnel.

Arlington, VA ; CNA, 2023. 26p.

By  Jacqueline Beard and  Georgina Sturge
  The Attorney General has the power to refer to the Court of Appeal sentences for certain offences which they believe to be unduly lenient. This is sometimes called the unduly lenient sentence scheme. The Attorney General’s power to refer only applies to serious offences, being those that can only be dealt with by the Crown Court and some other offences specified in an order. In recent years the scheme has been extended to more offences. Anyone can ask the Attorney General to consider whether a sentence should be referred to the Court of Appeal as being unduly lenient, including a victim, a relative of a victim or a member of the public. The Attorney General will consider whether the sentence is unduly lenient. If the Attorney General considers that it might be, then they refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal for review. There is a strict 28-day time limit within which the Attorney General is able to refer a sentence to the Court of Appeal. If the Court of Appeal agrees that the sentence is unduly lenient then it may increase it. The Court of Appeal will only find a sentence to be unduly lenient where it falls outside the range of sentences which the judge, applying their mind to all the relevant factors, could reasonably consider appropriate. The scheme was established in the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and came into force in 1989. The purpose of the scheme is to correct gross errors. There have been calls for the scheme to be expanded further to include more offences. The Government has said it has no plans to do so. This briefing applies to England and Wales.
London: House of Commons Library 2022. 13p.

By Allison P. Harris

How does racial diversity impact institutional outcomes and (in)equality? Discussions about diversity usually focus on how individuals’ identities shape their behavior, but diversity is a group-level characteristic. Scholars must, therefore, consider the relationship between group composition and the individual decisions that shape institutional outcomes. Using felony data from a large U.S. court system, I explore the relationship between racial diversity among the judges comprising a court and individual judges’ decisions. I find that as the percent of Black judges in a courthouse increases white judges are less likely to render incarceration sentences in cases with Black defendants. Increases in racial diversity decrease the Black–white gap in the probability of incarceration by up to 7 percentage points. However, I find no relationship between judge’s racial identities and disparities in their decisions. This study highlights the importance of conceptualizing diversity as a group characteristic and the relationship between institutional context and outcomes.

American Political Science Review, 2023, 16 pages

By Thomas Frampton

Supreme Court opinions involving race and the jury invariably open with the Fourteenth Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1875, or landmark cases like Strauder v. West Virginia (1880). Legal scholars and historians unanimously report that free people of color did not serve as jurors, in either the North or South, until 1860. In fact, this Article shows, Black men served as jurors in antebellum America decades earlier than anyone has previously realized. While instances of early Black jury service were rare, campaigns insisting upon Black citizens’ admission to the jury-box were not. From the late 1830s onward, Black activists across the country organized to abolish the all-white jury. They faced, and occasionally overcame, staunch resistance. This Article uses jury lists, court records, convention minutes, diaries, bills of sale, tax rolls, and other overlooked primary sources to recover these forgotten efforts, led by activists who understood the jury-box to be both a marker and maker of citizenship. A broader historical perspective—one that centers Black activists in the decades before the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868—offers a new way of thinking about the relationship between race, rights, citizenship, and the jury.

 New York University Law Review, 2024, 66 pages

By Mona Lynch and Emily V. Shaw

Building on research demonstrating significant differences in how Black and White Americans view law enforcement, this study assesses how views of police shape potential jurors’ decision-making. The authors conclude that it is critical that citizens are not prevented from being seated on juries due to skepticism about police, given the risk of disproportionate exclusion of Black potential jurors. The legal processes relevant to juror excusals need to be reconsidered to ensure that views of police, rooted in actual experience or knowledge about the problems with fair and just policing, are not used to disproportionately exclude persons of color, or to seat juries overrepresented by people who blindly trust police. A sample of 649 Black and White jury-eligible U.S. citizens were exposed a federal drug conspiracy case in which the primary evidence against the defendant is provided by an FBI agent and an informant cooperating with the agent, in which a Black defendant is being tried, and where the informant-witness race (Black or White) was varied. Participants determined verdict, evaluated evidence, and completed additional measures. Results indicated that Black participants were significantly less likely to convict than White participants, especially in the White informant condition; rated the law enforcement witness as less credible; and viewed police more negatively across three composite measures. Exploratory analysis of how juror race and gender interacted indicates Black women largely drove racial differences in verdicts. Perceptions of police legitimacy mediated the relationship between juror race and verdict choice

Race and Justice Volume: Online Dated: 2023 Pages: 1-25

By R. Michael Cassidy

Disciplining individual prosecutors will never be enough to overcome the multifarious incentives prosecutors have to cut corners to secure convictions. Although bar discipline against prosecutors is increasing in frequency, professional regulators tend to focus on individual actors rather than paying attention to systemic failures.

No single instance of prosecutorial misconduct—revealed perhaps by the reversal of a criminal case or the exoneration of an innocent defendant—can ever be fully explained by the deeds of a lone actor without looking at who establishes enforcement priorities, who sets office policies, and who does the training. Leaders in the office are usually involved, either by omission (failing to catch an error) or commission (creating an office culture where ethical lapses are tolerated or even encouraged).

The predominance of collective action and shared responsibility in business organizations often makes it difficult to pinpoint criminal liability. That challenge is addressed through the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine in criminal law, which holds executive-level individuals accountable for the wrongdoing to which they contributed, whether through commission or omission. Prosecutor’s offices are organizations with structures and incentives not dissimilar to that of a corporation. Because existing frameworks for addressing prosecutorial misconduct in the criminal justice system are ineffective, bar regulators should borrow from the responsible corporate officer doctrine by more aggressively enforcing Rule 5.1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The notion that supervisory attorneys must be more actively involved in their colleagues’ ethical decisions and conduct has been recognized by the bar since the adoption of ABA Model Rule 5.1 in 1983, but the rule remains undertheorized by scholars and underutilized by disciplinary authorities. This article draws on important parallels between the responsible corporate officer doctrine and Rule 5.1 to explain why enforcement of professional discipline against leaders in a prosecutor’s office is necessary to incentivize more rigorous supervision and training. The author scrutinizes two recent cases in Colorado and Massachusetts where bar regulators have successfully utilized Rule 5.1 to discipline leaders in a prosecutor’s office for failing adequately to supervise the conduct of junior associates. The author then advocates for an even more expansive use of Rule 5.1 to force head prosecutors to adopt written, transparent, and publicly available policies and procedures. Finally, the author discusses three recurring and highly intractable problems of prosecutorial discretion that could benefit from comprehensive office policy manuals: grand jury practice, disclosure of exculpatory evidence; and use of cooperating witnesses.

Oregon Law Review, Vol. 102, 2024, Boston College Law School Legal Studies Research Paper No. 614, 37 p

By  Jana Hrdinova, Dexter Ridgway, Douglas A. Berman and Peter Leasure

Ohio Senate Bill 288 (134th G.A.) created Ohio Revised Code Section (2953.39) to allow prosecutors to initiate sealing or expungement actions on behalf of defendants previously convicted of low-level controlled substance offenses. After passage of this new law, the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at The Ohio State University surveyed all elected or appointed prosecutors in Ohio to gauge their office's interest and willingness to initiate record sealing or expungement applications on behalf of people who have been previously convicted of a low-level controlled substance offense. Overall, about 12% of respondents stated that they were willing to pursue prosecutor-initiated sealing for low-level controlled substance offenses. For those who reported that they were unlikely to pursue prosecutor-initiated sealing, common explanations for not doing so included the lack of staffing resources, the lack of financial resources, the lack of data, the belief it is not the responsibility of prosecutors, and the sufficiency of the defendant-initiated system

Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. August 2023, 19pg

By Kristin Porter, Cindy Redcross, Luke Miratrix
Across the country, release and detention decisions for defendants in the pretrial period — that is, the period after arrest while a criminal case is being adjudicated — are increasingly guided by risk assessments, which rely on data to estimate defendants’ risk of failing to appear for a court date or of being charged with new criminal activity if released pending trial. A risk assessment is generally used by a judicial body to help determine whether a defendant will be released while waiting for a case to be resolved, and if so, under what conditions (these are the defendant’s release conditions). The goal of pretrial risk assessments is to make any restrictions imposed on a defendant’s liberty better align with the risk that person poses to the community.

As has been widely discussed, these assessments — and the way they are used — have the potential to introduce new biases and further perpetuate racial disparities in the criminal justice system. This research brief describes the approach taken by MDRC’s Center for Criminal Justice Research and MDRC’s Center for Data Insights to understand, assess, and address bias in pretrial risk assessments and the systems that use them.

New York: MDRC, 2020. 11p.

By Elizabeth Neuland

On May 4, 2021, New York became the 20th state to restore the right to vote to individuals upon release from custody, regardless of parole status. In a time when the United States government is trying to protect voting rights through the “For the People Act” and “The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act,”  and while some states are seeing radical legislation proposed that would potentially suppress the right to vote, New York needs to abolish the antiquated practice of felony disenfranchisement and guarantee the right to vote to all eligible New Yorkers regardless of incarceration status. The practice of felony disenfranchisement does not align with the values and core curriculum of the programs being provided by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (“DOCCS”) within state correctional facilities. The overview statement for program services reads, “DOCCS offers an extensive array of programs and services for incarcerated individuals to assist them in redirecting their lives and becoming productive, law-abiding members  of society.” Although the word “rehabilitation” is absent, this statement essentially summarizes what rehabilitation is. The argument to abolish felony disenfranchisement is highlighted by the vast rehabilitation efforts taken by DOCCS, through numerous employment and vocational programs, temporary release programs, and educational opportunities. Felony disenfranchisement stands in stark opposition to rehabilitation because it alienates individuals from the very communities to which DOCCS is taking great measures to help them to return In addition to rehabilitation, restoring the right to vote to all eligible New Yorkers regardless of incarceration status would raise the level of accountability for state politicians, lawmakers, and DOCCS itself. It is no secret that correctional facilities can be dangerous places, due to both interpersonal violence and acts of self-inflicted harm, including suicide. Accountability should apply to those that are the guardians of a vulnerable population. In Parts I and II, this Comment provides a brief overview of international and national practices of felony disenfranchisement to see where New York fits into the landscape. Part III concentrates on New York State. Its legislation affecting disenfranchisement and the number of individuals incarcerated are discussed to highlight how many people are affected by felony disenfranchisement. The argument to fully abolish felony disenfranchisement is made through discussions of rehabilitation and accountability. Lastly, this Comment describes how all New York citizens could be enfranchised.  

 City University of New York Law Review. 2022, 25pg

by Shamena Anwar, Melissa M. Labriola, Stephanie Brooks Holliday, Matthew L. Mizel

In this report, RAND researchers share results of a process and outcome evaluation of Project Reset, a program that diverts adults arrested for low-level crimes into community-based support programs and out of the court system. Initially, the post-arrest pre-arraignment program was available only to individuals who did not have a criminal record, but the eligibility criteria eventually expanded to include those with prior convictions. The program served 2,149 individuals during the period analyzed. Researchers identified key program facilitators and barriers, documented participant experiences, determined the effect the program had on case outcomes and rearrest rates, and examined whether the program was cost-effective.

Key Findings

• Project Reset led to improved case outcomes for participants. The program allowed individuals to attend a one-time, two-hour programming session and have their arrest sealed immediately afterwards. If not for the program, these individuals likely would have received an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal (ACD) in the court system. Receiving an ACD would have required them to remain arrest-free and make multiple court appearances over a six-month to one-year supervisory period.

• Project Reset did not lead to an increase in rearrests.

• Project Reset was viewed favorably among staff and program participants.

• Lack of reliable and accurate contact information for participants was a major barrier to recruitment, as 49 percent of those referred to Project Reset could not be reached by the provider.

• Inequities in program completion may compound existing disparities in the criminal legal system. Outreach difficulties resulted in White Hispanic, Black non-Hispanic, and Black Hispanic individuals composing 65.2 percent of the population referred to Project Reset, but only 58.8% of program completers.

• Under the existing program cost structure, the program costs outweighed the costs of traditional court adjudication. However, this relationship varied substantially by provider, and the program costs were actually significantly less expensive than court costs for the provider that served the largest number of clients.

• Program cost-effectiveness would improve if the ratio of program staff to participants were lower, which could be accomplished either by lowering staff levels or increasing the number of participants.

Recommendations

• Strategize how to collect better contact information for participants.

• Increase public awareness of the program to improve its credibility when programs conduct outreach.

• Examine whether current program eligibility criteria are leading to racial and ethnic disparities in program referral rates.

• Reduce program provision costs by lowering the staff-to-participant ratio, which could be accomplished by either reducing the number of staff or increasing program caseloads.

• Assess whether other populations could benefit from diversion programming.

• Continue to hire, support, and keep well-qualified staff.

• Support staff autonomy and program flexibility.

• Continue to connect participants with needed services after completion.

Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2023. 129p.