By Gemma Buckland

In recent decades, policymakers have become increasingly aware that our legal definition, which treats all people aged 18 years or older as adults, does not reflect the neurological process of maturation. Policymakers across all parts of the criminal justice system have recognised this although changes in practice are variable at best. There is now a considerable body of evidence on the maturation process and best practice in working with young adults (typically defined as those aged between 18 and 25 years old) in contact with the criminal justice system. This review looks at: What we understand about the development of the brain in young adulthood The implications for young adults involved in criminal behaviour The impact of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences on the maturation process The “age-crime curve” and the evidence about growing out of crime Implications for best practice working with young adults

London: CLINKS, 2025. 16p.

By Tyson Singh Kelsall and Jasmine Veark and Molly Beatrice a d

This commentary explores a recent shift in British Columbia's drug policy under a novel drug “decriminalization” framework. We focus on the province's move toward "recriminalization" under this framework. In short, recriminalization was a shift in BC's drug decriminalization framework to only apply in private residences, and be removed from essentially all outdoor spaces. This policy change was completed through an agreement with the federal government amid a public health emergency. Since 2016, BC has faced a severe crisis of drug-related overdoses and poisonings, driven by a toxic and unregulated drug supply compounded by prohibitionist policies. Expert recommendations for increasing access to a regulated drug supply have repeatedly dismissed as solutions by the governing BC New Democratic Party, opting instead for measures that do not undercut the toxic drug supply. We examine the sociolegal context of the BC government decision to recriminalize drug use in 2024, including attempts to criminalize recent drug use and police suspicion of substance use. These drug law reforms, understood here as forms of biopolitical violence, reflect a broader trend of using drug policies as tools for social and spatial regulation. By analyzing the sociolegal implications of these policies, the commentary situates the BC government's actions within a framework of sanctioned biopolitical massacre, highlighting the tension between purported decriminalization efforts and the actual enforcement strategies that perpetuate harm and exclusion. This examination underscores the complex interplay between drug policy, public health crises, and state power in the context of systemic colonial and racialized control that may be adaptable to other regions considering drug law reform.

International Journal of Drug Policy

Volume 136, February 2025, 104688

By BRANDON L. GARRETT, ERIC TUCKER & NICHOLAS SCURICH

Firearms violence results in hundreds of thousands of criminal investigations each year. To try to identify a culprit, firearms examiners seek to link fired shell casings or bullets from crime scene evidence to a particular firearm. The underlying assumption is that firearms impart unique marks on bullets and cartridge cases, and that trained examiners can identify these marks to determine which were fired by the same gun. For over a hundred years, firearms examiners have testified that they can conclusively identify the source of a bullet or cartridge case. In recent years, however, research scientists have called into question the validity and reliability of such testimony. Judges largely did not view such testimony with increased skepticism after the Supreme Court set out standards for screening expert evidence in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Instead, the surge in judicial rulings came more than a decade later, particularly after reports by scientists shed light on limitations of the evidence. In this Article, we detail over a century of case law and examine how judges have engaged with the changing practice and scientific understanding of firearms comparison evidence. We first describe how judges initially viewed firearms comparison evidence skeptically and hought jurors capable of making firearms comparisons themselves— without an expert. Next, judges embraced the testimony of experts who offered more specific and aggressive claims, and the work spread nationally. Finally, we explore the modern era of firearms case law and research. Judges increasingly express skepticism and adopt a range of approaches to limit in-court testimony by firearms examiners. In December 2023, Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence was amended, for the first time in over twenty years, specifically due to the Rules Committee’s concern with the quality of federal rulings regarding forensic evidence, as well as the failure to engage with the ways that forensic experts express conclusions in court. There is perhaps no area in which judges, especially federal judges, have been more active than in the area of firearms evidence. Thus, the judging of firearms evidence has central significance for the direction that scientific evidence gatekeeping may take under the revised Rule 702 in federal, and then state courts. We conclude by examining lessons regarding the gradual judicial shift toward a more scientific approach. The more-than-a-century-long arc of judicial review of firearms evidence in the United States suggests that, over time, scientific research can displace tradition and precedent to improve the quality of justice.

97 S. Cal. L. Rev. 101, 2024.

By Roland Neil, and Michael Zanger-Tishler

There is great concern about algorithmic racial bias in the risk assessment instruments (RAIs) used in the criminal legal system. When testing for algorithmic bias, most research effectively uses arrest data as an unbiased measure of criminal offending, which collides with longstanding concerns that arrest is a biased proxy of offending. Given the centrality of arrest data in RAIs, racial differences in how arrest proxies offending may be a key pathway through which RAIs become biased. In this review, we evaluate the extensive body of research on racial differences in arrest as a measure of crime. Furthermore, we detail several ways that racial bias in arrest records could create algorithmic bias, although little research has attempted to measure the degree of algorithmic bias generated by using racially biased arrest records. We provide a roadmap to assist future research in understanding the impact of biased arrest records on RAIs.

Annual Review of Criminology, Vol. 8:97-119 January 2025)

By Christine Reynolds, et al.

On July 1, 2014, changes proposed to Indiana’s Criminal Code were officially implemented, affecting the criminal justice system. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) is statutorily obligated to monitor and evaluate the impact of the criminal code reform, reporting results to state legislators on an annual basis. Findings from the Evaluation of Indiana’s Criminal Code Reform reports1 suggest that local criminal justice professionals are concerned with the lessened severity of sentences associated with drug crimes. They suggest that this reduction in severity may have increased recidivism, perpetuating the revolving door of the justice system, and is negatively impacting an offender’s ability to recover from substance use disorder—a commonly identified association with a drug offense. In an effort to operationalize changes in severity of sentencing, this report compares drug conviction data from nine Indiana counties from a period in time before the reform to a like period after the changes set in. Results indicate that dealing and possession convictions increased, where dealing of marijuana and possession of methamphetamine had the starkest increases. Findings also displayed that felons and misdemeanants alike are being convicted differently than offenders under the legacy code. There was a 50% decrease in both dealing and possession offenses’ advisory sentence. In addition, while jail is the most common sentence placement across both time periods, alternative sentencing is utilized far more often than pre-reform, indicating that penalties for drug crimes have generally decreased. This work adds to literature concerning the effects of the criminal code reform in Indiana, and may lay the groundwork for further analysis, such as the reform’s impacts on recidivism and offender rehabilitation.

Indianapolis: Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, 2020. 26p.

By  Elise Ferguson,  Daniel Goldberg,  Paul Guerin

This study examines the validity of the judicial designee assessment (JDA), an assessment tool used in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court for select misdemeanor cases. We review specifically the ability to predict the likelihood of an individual committing a new crime, committing new violent crime, and failing to appear at a future court hearing during their pretrial period. Validity is reviewed for race and gender. Additional research is included that provides a preliminary look at the use of the JDA for charges that would typically not have qualified for assessment.

Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, Institute for Social Research, 2023. 25p.

By Paul Guerin

This study reviews felony court cases in the Second Judicial District Court with a Public Safety Assessment (PSA) and a pretrial detention (PTD) motion filed between July 2017 and June 2023. The dataset of 6,698 cases includes court data and jail data that is used to study the cases from the filing of the case to the court disposition. It is important to note this review includes the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic likely had some impact on case filings, time to case dispositions, and jails admissions and lengths of stay. This review found that a slightly higher percent of court cases on which a preventive detention motion was filed was granted compared to denied motions. The study confirms other research that cases with higher FTA and NCA scores are more likely to have granted motions and that motions were most likely to be filed on cases with violent charges. We found 55% of closed cases had a conviction and were sentenced and that 43.5% were dismissed or nolled and so did not result in a conviction. Cases with denied preventive detention motions spent few days in the MDC regardless of their disposition. Cases with a granted motion that were eventually dismissed or nolled spent slightly more than 120 days in the MDC and a similar number of days in the court system. Dismissals and nolles occur at the case level for a variety of reasons including uncooperative witnesses, lack of probable cause, and because some cases might be refiled in the Federal court system. Various criminal justice system level reasons may also exist. This includes the volume of crime and arrests with resulting court case filings, the complexity of cases, and staffing among the various agencies. This preliminary review of preventive detention motion cases in the Second Judicial District Court is the first of its kind to report on the disposition of cases with a preventive detention motion. In the future more sophisticated and detailed analyses and reporting could occur that further detail the relationship between PSA scores, preventive detention motions and results, and court case dispositions.

Albuquerque: Center for Applied Research and Analysis, Institute for Social Research, University of New Mexico , 2024. 13p.

By Alex Severson,  Elise Ferguson,  Cris Moore, Paul Guerin, 

This study analyzes the costs and benefits of pretrial detention in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, examining 16,500 felony cases filed between January 2017 and March 2022. The analysis evaluates the relationship between pretrial detention length and failure outcomes, including failure to appear (FTA), new criminal activity (NCA), and new violent criminal activity (NVCA), both during the pretrial period and post-disposition. The study found that longer detention periods (8-30 days) were associated with significantly higher odds of pretrial failure compared to shorter stays, particularly for failure to appear, though this relationship varied by demographic groups. For post-disposition outcomes, moderate detention lengths (4-30 days) were associated with increased odds of general recidivism but decreased odds of violent recidivism. Using marginal cost estimates rather than average daily jail costs, we estimate that reducing detention length to two days for eligible low-risk defendants who did not fail pretrial could yield cost savings of approximately $259,722 annually. The study contributes to ongoing debates about pretrial detention policies by demonstrating that extended detention periods may increase certain failure rates while generating substantial system costs. However, the analysis notes important limitations, including inability to fully control for post-disposition sentencing outcomes and the challenge of establishing causal relationships between detention length and failure rates. 

Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, Institute for Social Research, 2024.40p.

By Kristine Denman and Ella Siegrist  

The New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center received funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to complete a multi-phase study assessing New Mexico’s bail reform efforts. The current report examines the impact of bail reform in six New Mexico counties. This study first explores the use and amount of bond judges ordered as recorded in criminal court cases where conditions of release were set, using data from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The data includes cases disposed between 2015 and 2019, and consists of misdemeanor and felony cases, both pretrial and post-disposition. Second, using data from New Mexico county detention centers and the AOC, the study explores the impact of bail reform among defendants booked between 2015 and 2019 for a new felony offense. This allows us to examine the impact of bail reform on pretrial practices among felony defendants—the target of New Mexico’s constitutional amendment on bail reform. Specifically, the study examines four outcomes: pretrial detention practices, the use of bond, failure/success rates among those released pretrial; and court efficiency. By analyzing pre- and post- bail reform data, we found that the amendment has been successful in reducing the average amount of bond ordered and the frequency with which it is ordered. Judges, however, ordered temporary no-bond holds when issuing a warrant for arrest more frequently after bail reform. Overall, defendants involved in new felony cases were detained for a shorter period of time. However, this was not true across the board: a slightly greater percentage were subject to a short period of detention (rather than immediate release), and those detained during the entire pretrial period spent more time in jail post-reform. During the pretrial period, new violent offenses increased slightly by 2%; new offenses overall increased by 1%. Failures to appear were more common after bail reform, with a 5% increase, but this varied significantly by county. In general, time to case resolution decreased post-bail reform, though cases involving defendants detained the entire pretrial period took slightly longer to resolve. 

Albuquerque: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center   2022. 57p.

By Kristine Denman and Ella Siegrist

Felony criminal cases in New Mexico progress through multiple steps. New Mexico has a two-tiered system. Cases are typically initiated in the lower courts and bound over to the district court for felony prosecution after a finding of probable cause. Not all cases are bound over, however, and whether adjudication occurs is dependent on decisions made along the way. These decisions influence the trajectory and outcomes of the case. Prosecutors play a key role in this process. They decide whether to file charges against a particular defendant in a criminal case; which charges to pursue; whether to file felony charges, and if so, whether to pursue a finding of probable cause via preliminary examination or grand jury (if available); and whether to offer a plea bargain. These prosecutorial decisions, though, are not the only factors that influence this trajectory. Other factors, including court resources, judicial decision-making, defense decisions, and witness cooperation all play a role. Further, restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 altered some court processes. All of these factors can also influence the time that it takes to reach resolution on a court case. The current report is a part of a multi-part study on criminal case progression in the state of New Mexico. This report tracks the progression and outcomes of a sample of felony court cases initiated in magistrate and metropolitan courts across the state between January of 2017 and June of 2021. It also explores time to disposition and how the charges associated with a case change as the case progresses through the courts. 

Albuquerque: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center 2024. 86p.

By Kristine Denman and Caitlyn Sandoval

Since its inception, the United States has used the grand jury system. Grand juries are an independent group of citizens whose job is to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to charge an individual with a crime, thereby ensuring that the prosecutor does not abuse their discretion. Legal scholars, though, have long raised concerns about the use of grand juries. At least as early as the 1800s, scholars and others have questioned whether the practice should be abolished. They cite concerns that, in practice, not only are grand juries costly, they also do not result in the intended protections (see, e.g., Kinghorn, 1881; Younger, 1955). Despite this long-standing controversy, the criminal justice system continues to use grand juries at the federal level and in jurisdictions across the United States, including in New Mexico. In 2018, however, the Bernalillo County District Court (the largest judicial district in New Mexico) reported that they would be limiting the number of grand juries held from approximately 20 times per month to six (Guadaro, August 6, 2018). Proponents in New Mexico argue that preliminary examinations—the alternative to grand jury—are more transparent, cost-effective, and lead to improved case outcomes among cases that proceed to district court, mirroring many of the same arguments made nationally and historically. Opponents, on the other hand, argue that in the long run, preliminary examinations are not cost-effective and may have an adverse effect on crime (ibid). The purpose of the current study is to understand the processing of felony cases in New Mexico and the influence of prosecutorial discretion in that process. Specifically, the study explores case initiation type and whether this is associated with the ultimate disposition of cases. Further, the study reviews the efficiency of preliminary examinations. Finally, we examine whether offense type, jurisdiction, and COVID-19-related restrictions are related to these decisions and procedures.   

Albuquerque: New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center , 2023. 62p.

By Robin Joy

From 2015-2019 Black people in Vermont were more likely to experience violent crime than White people in Vermont. This paper explores the circumstances and the criminal justice system response to violent crime against Black individuals. To do so, we use two data sources: the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the Vermont Court Adjudication Database maintained by the Crime Research Group (CRG). This paper focuses on the experience of Black victims1 and mentions White victims only when there is a divergence in patterns or responses that highlight specific policy needs to reduce Black victimization. For example, efforts to reduce violence against women will have lesser impact on Black victimization. This is because Black men make up the majority of Black victims of violence. White women make up the majority of victims of White victims of violence. This will be discussed more fully below. It is mentioned here to frame the readers’ attention as to when White victimization is referenced and when focusing policy discussions on Black experiences will benefit all Vermonters.   

Montpelier: Crime Research Group, 2022/ 12p.

By Robin Joy

 This brief explores female offenders and court processing in Vermont. The brief draws on three sources: the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) accessed via the Crime Data Explorer (CDE), which captures crimes reported to the police, the Court Adjudication Database maintained by Crime Research Group (CRG), and Criminal Histories maintained by Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC). These data cover different aspects of the criminal justice process. Please refer to the Criminal Justice Data Pyramid submitted with this document and found on the CRG website. Highlights: • Women are likely to be arrested for assault and larceny offenses. • Violation of bail conditions and drug possession charges drive incarceration for women. • Black women are overrepresented in arrests and sentences to incarceration. • Washington and Windham counties send the most women to prison. • Women starting a sentence of incarceration in 2023 were an average age of 38 and had spent about 10% of their lives (3.5 years) incarcerated. • Probation Violations, Violation of Conditions of Release (Bail), and Escape from Furlough are some of the more common crimes women serve incarceration for.  

Montpelier: Vermont Crime Research Group. 2024. 16p.

By Guha Krishnamurthi

We are in the age of the Data State. Increasingly capable artificial intelligences, equipped with vast amounts of data, will integrate into every aspect of our lives. Penal systems are no exception-algorithms are already being deployed in criminal investigations, bail determinations, and sentencing decisions. Thinkers of all stripes-including scholars, activists, and science-fiction authors-have warned us of the dire consequences of such algorithmic criminal systems. Philip K. Dick's Minority Report presaged an apocalyptic society predicting and preemptively punishing criminal behavior. Minority Report featured precognitives-or "precogs"-individuals that had psychic ability to predict premeditated murders. Today, we are warned, algorithms are the new precogs, with an uncannily accurate but impenetrable method of determining the future. And we can expect that society will pervasively use such predictions to pre-punish individuals. Our societal desire to stop criminal wrongs will come at the heavy cost of our freedom. Understandably, this has led people to stridently oppose the use of algorithmic criminal systems. In this Article, I proffer a vision of how to integrate algorithms into criminal systems that aims to enhance, rather than curtail, our freedom and minimize the reach of the draconian criminal law. Consider a simple example: Jaywalking. Under the Minority Report view, police would use algorithms to predict jaywalkers and ticket them preemptively. But under an alternative system, algorithms would predict vehicle movement, and allow people to cross the street safely whenever they wish. Similarly, an algorithmic criminal system could probabilistically predict the occurrence of other crimes, including violent crimes, and first deploy alternative interventions to stop the crime while zealously avoiding penal responses.

From these examples, the Article derives the Liberty-Enhancing View, with a concrete set of principles for implementing an algorithmic criminal system: First, algorithmic systems should seek to avoid imposing punishment on individuals. Second, algorithms should seek to eliminate pretextual, intrusive conduct by the government. Third, algorithms should seek to eliminate malum prohibitum laws, through superior coordination. Fourth, algorithms should seek to eliminate inchoate liabilities. And fifth, algorithms should not seek to discover and punish bad character of individuals, especially through criminalizing inchoate conduct. This Liberty-Enhancing View does not seek to shelter the penal system from algorithms. Instead, it focuses our use of algorithms to advance the principles underlying our criminal justice system, with the aspiration of eliminating the harms of the penal state.

Houston Law Review, 2025, 56p.

By Ethan Lowens

Many of the most widely discussed and influential criminal legal reform proposals of the last several years, including "defund the police," "no new jails," and plea strikes, are resource attacks. Resource attacks reduce the footprint of the criminal legal system by creating an imbalance between the resources available to it and the resources it needs to continue status quo operations. Forced into a resource crunch, the theory goes, institutions such as the police, prosecutors, and criminal courts will triage and scale back. There is substantial evidence that resource attacks can, and have, meaningfully reduced incarceration, misdemeanor prosecutions, and executions. Yet, despite their effectiveness, popularity, and political influence, resource attacks presently exist without a name or identity in the criminal legal scholarship. This article fills that gap, beginning with a definition and a catalog of resource attack case studies and proposals. The catalog includes a novel case study: in 2020, New York rewrote its discovery law to impose substantial new burdens on prosecutors. Prosecutors were quickly overwhelmed-following the law's implementation, the rate of dismissals of misdemeanor cases in New York City jumped from 32.6% of cases just prior to reform to 55.2% after. Resource attacks can deliver tremendous impact quickly and at low political cost. However, their effects are often temporary as affected institutions adapt to constraints or secure additional funding. Resource attacks can even backfire, forming the foundation for a bigger, more destructive criminal legal system. The article concludes with guidance for architects of prospective resource attacks: they should tailor their plans to a jurisdiction's particular legal and institutional features, prepare to stay engaged well after their intervention's launch, and promote statutory changes that make the temporary effects of a resource attack permanent.

 N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change Volume 47, Issue 4, 2025, pp. 479-538 pages

By Daniel Loehr

They are widely understood to have emerged from the “tough-on-crime” movement in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time period, a number of states passed these laws, often in the form of “Three Strikes and You’re Out” laws, which require judges to impose life sentences for third convictions for certain offenses. Washington state passed such a law in 1993, California amended a prior version of its law in 1994 adding a number of violent and non-violent crimes that would qualify for life sentences, and the federal government included a three strikes law in the 1994 Crime Bill. Despite these prominent examples of “habitual offender” laws enacted during this time period, the origination of these laws extends back much further. “Habitual offender” laws first spread across the country in the early 1900s as part of the eugenics movement, which grew in the 1880s and reached its peak in the 1920s. The aim of the eugenics movement was to create a superior race in order to address social problems such as crime and disease, which the movement assumed had a biological basis. Applying pseudoscience, laws and policies were created to prevent those who were deemed inferior, such as the mentally ill, those convicted of criminal offenses, or the physically frail, from reproducing. Eugenics and racism are deeply entwined, and the “projects” of eugenics supported “racial nationalism and racial purity.” One example of the relationship between race and eugenics is found in Nazi Germany, where "Nazi planners appropriated and incorporated eugenics as they implemented racial policy and genocide.  

The report reveals that many of the United States’ “habitual offender” laws, are rooted in eugenics – a widely discredited theory once deployed by Nazis during World War II, that humans can be improved through selective breeding of populations, deeming certain groups as inferior and inhibiting their ability to reproduce. “Habitual offender” laws first spread across the United States in the early 1900s as part of the eugenics movement, and many endure today in 49 states and the federal government.    

American eugenicists promoted “habitual offender” laws – laws that impose longer sentences based on an individual's past convictions – because they believed that certain people who committed crimes were genetically predestined to commit those crimes and could spread their criminality to their children. Although the country shifted away from eugenics after World War II, states like California continue to enforce “habitual offender” sentencing laws that emerged from the eugenics movement.

The report provides a list of current “habitual offender” laws in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government and highlights the eugenic principles used to advocate and pass these laws in states like California, Vermont, and Colorado. 

• California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law results in life sentences for offenses that typically would not warrant such extreme punishment. The law’s origins can be traced to 1923. Leading up to its passage, California eugenicists called for a sentencing law that would prevent reproduction.

• Colorado’s “habitual offender” law retains the same operative core as its eugenics-era version from 1929. After vetoing the state’s sterilization bill in 1927, Colorado's Governor noted that long-term sentences would be the better option, noting that “the end sought to be reached by the [sterilization] legislation can be obtained by the exercise of careful supervision of the inmates, without invoking the drastic and perhaps unconstitutional provisions of the act.”

• Vermont passed its first “habitual offender” law in 1927. The then-Governor proposed sterilization or long sentences for “habitual criminals” in order to “restrict the propagation of defective children.” That law remains in force today with only minor textual changes. 

The history of "habitual offender" laws in America is deeply rooted in the racist and pseudoscientific eugenics movement which has left a lasting legacy of irreparable harm to Black and brown communities. These laws were never about justice – they were based on exclusion and false, dangerous belief in hereditary criminality. Dismantling "habitual offender" laws is not just a matter of policy – it is a moral imperative.

Washington, DC: Sentencing Project, 2025. 20p.

By Grant Duwe and Valerie Clark

Using a sample of nearly 2,100 people incarcerated in Minnesota’s prison system, this study examined the concurrent and predictive validity of a needs and responsivity assessment system. For concurrent validity, we evaluated the relationship between the 13 needs and responsivity domains with assessed recidivism risk levels. For predictive validity, we analyzed the association between the domains and recidivism for a subsample that had been released from prison prior to 2023. The hypothesized needs domains—anti-social thinking, anti-social peers, education, employment, substance use disorder, housing/homelessness, and family/domestic—were significantly associated with assessed and observed recidivism, while most of the hypothesized responsivity domains—mental health, religiosity, motivation and learning style—were not. The results suggest self-identity is a distinct criminogenic need. Gender and racial/ethnic differences for concurrent and predictive validity were relatively minimal across the 13 domains.

St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Corrections, 2023. 33p.

By Michael Palmieri and Valerie Clark

Across the United States, a significant proportion of people in jails and prisons suffer from some form of substance use disorder. In recent years, opioids have become a concern as the country has entered an epidemic in which opioid overdoses occur with relative frequency. Given that drugs have a significant impact on all aspects of crime, some jails and prisons in the U.S. have started implementing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) programs to, one, save lives, but also help address one criminogenic need associated with criminal behavior. This study used a retrospective quasi-experimental design to generate a comparison group (357 incarcerated persons) to a group of individuals who received treatment for opioid use disorder (357). Using competing risks models, results provide evidence that MOUD does reduce recidivism among those who have received it. Results also suggest that when paired with traditional substance use disorder treatment, MOUD can have a somewhat higher magnitude of effect. These results suggest that the use of MOUD should be expanded across the U.S.

St. Paul: Minnesota Department of Corrections, 2024. 35p.

By Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Detailing the inquiry into Australia’s advocacy efforts against the death penalty, this report finds that Australia’s advocacy strategies must be reevaluated and revamped in order to be effective in a contemporary human rights environment.

The inquiry reviewed progress since the committee's 2016 report on the same issue, taking into consideration the current global landscape and challenges to abolition. It examines Australia's strategy for abolition, international cooperation, and engagement with civil society, finding that Australia has a role to play globally in advocating for the abolition of the death penalty through every avenue possible.

Recommendations

The Australian Government continues to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty in all retentionist countries through bilateral, multilateral and regional forums, and with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition to advocating for abolition, the Australian Government should advocate for a reduction in the categories of crimes that carry the death penalty in retentionist countries and for discretion in sentencing.

Provide an annual statement against the death penalty, to be delivered in Parliament and across multiple platforms.

Consider the development of a strategy for domestic education and awareness raising.

Consider providing adequate funding for civil society organisations to more accurately gather data on trends and current areas of concern regarding the use of the death penalty.

The Attorney-General’s Department should consult Capital Punishment Justice Project to ensure the competency and qualifications of the local lawyers engaged to represent Australian nationals in capital cases.

The Australian Government should undertake annual reviews of the mechanisms and operations of the Australian Federal Police’s Sensitive Investigations Oversight Board.

Canberra: Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade2025.

By Sam Worrall  

  Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities face additional barriers throughout the criminal justice system (CJS); inequalities in mental health and diagnosed conditions, lack of appropriate educational opportunities and no knowledge of systems, among other factors. This report is designed to offer insight into the experiences of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities relating to all stages of the criminal justice system, to help improve knowledge and understanding of how to approach policy and practice for people from these communities. The report draws on primary data collection from surveys, focus groups, and individual interviews. The insight and voices of members of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities provide the key evidence for policy makers, service providers and commissioners working across the criminal justice system, to ensure that the guidance authentically reflects experiences and needs. We found: • Alternatives to custody were not considered for the majority of cases related to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller individuals. • Lack of support throughout the custodial journey for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and their families. • Lack of accessible and culturally appropriate support provided for mental health needs. • Prison and probation/parole staff did not have the cultural competency required to work with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller individuals. • Lack of resources and staff capacity for delivering equalities requirements for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners. • Prisoners did not have easy access to culturally appropriate education and/or practical courses and workshops to support them in prison. • Lack of consistency across the prison estate for regular Gypsy, Roma and Traveller forums or meet ups. • Lack of awareness and information about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and significant calendar events around prisons. • Lack of consistency across the prison estate, in managing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoner needs. The Ministry of Justice must prioritise its Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Strategy to ensure a level playing field across prisons.

Recommendations • Offer effective alternatives to remand for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller offenders. Instead of holding an individual on remand, the prison system should offer programmes to support diversion, improve mental health, and offer meaningful community service. • Provide effective signposting for individuals at every stage of the criminal justice pathway. From the point of being accused of a crime, through custodial sentence and including post-custody (after prison). Ensure individuals are put in contact with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller-friendly legal support and other organisations who offer support throughout the CJS. Ensure police stations and courts are signposting to trusted organisations. • Offer programmes of support to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners to support future diversion, and improve mental health. • Ensure individuals receive mental health support at all stages. Develop a consistent model across the criminal justice system, especially in the prison estate, such as pastoral support, and/or a programme of community mentor listeners. Remove barriers that prevent individuals from accessing this support by, for example, allowing pastoral care to be available to those on basic mental health support. • Co-produce accessible resources such as videos for young Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and their families. • Develop cultural competency training for staff including probation/parole staff across CJS. Explore co-produced options such as Q&A sessions with community members and display boards raising awareness. • Provide specific resources for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities to be available in forums and libraries. • Ensure funding is targeted to increase Equalities teams and ensure those in post are committed to equality across all communities. • Provide culturally appropriate education and additional practical courses for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller prisoners. Offer educational workshops and programmes such as those run by the Shannon Trust, ensuring extra support is in place to encourage young people to enrol. • Hold regular Gypsy, Roma and Traveller forums in prison. Celebrate key community events, create safe spaces, and encourage prisoner interaction and other activities. Raise awareness of the communities to non-community prisoners and prison staff. Co-produce the events programme with community prisoners. • Include regular evaluation and monitoring of all of the above as part of the delivery of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller strategy for the criminal justice system 

Brighton, East Sussex, UK: Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT), 2025. 57p.