By The Washington State Office of the Corrections Ombuds Solitary Confinement Research Team (OCO-SCRT). . Research Team:  Angee Schrader OCO-SCRT Project Lead Senior Corrections Ombuds - Investigations E.V. Webb, M.E.S. OCO-SCRT Thematic Analysis Lead Assistant Corrections Ombuds - Investigations Elisabeth Kingsbury, J.D. OCO Deputy Director Heather Bates OCO Public Records & Contract Manager Madison Vinson, J.D. OCO Assistant Corrections Ombuds - Policy Sara Appleton OCO Quality Assurance & Training Manager Zachary Kinneman

Civilian oversight of corrections brings an independent set of eyes and, if done correctly, the values of integrity, respect, collaboration, equity, and courage to bear witness to the ways in which the norms and cultures of carceral systems are rooted in secrecy, a lack of transparency, and rules and regulations. The Washington State Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO) is the only civilian oversight of the Washington State corrections system established in state government with the authority and responsibility to investigate actions or inactions of the Washington Department of Corrections (WADOC). The OCO routinely monitors places that are among the most opaque public institutions in our state – the state’s corrections facilities (prisons and reentry centers). In addition to monitoring prisons and reentry centers, the OCO, in its capacity as the statewide prison oversight mechanism, responds to the governor and legislature’s concerns about conditions of confinement and the inherent dangers of living and working inside corrections facilities. Advocates of eradicating the use of solitary confinement in WADOC have waged a multi-year campaign requesting greater attention be paid to what happens to people living and working inside prisons in the state of Washington. Some elected officials have demanded greater accountability and transparency from the WADOC about the use of solitary confinement. Multiple bills calling for a reduction in solitary confinement have been introduced in the state legislature in recent years; however, none have passed out of the legislature. At the end of the 2023 legislative session, seeing that once again, a bill requiring the WADOC: to reduce the use of solitary confinement would not pass out of the legislature, a request was made of the OCO to write a report answering a short list of specific questions about the WADOC ‘s historical and current use of solitary confinement. This report, Solitary Confinement: Part II, looks deeply at the experiences, perspectives, and opinions of a sampling of people who have lived in solitary confinement in WADOC prisons with the goal of providing additional context to the data discussed in Part I. The final release, Solitary Confinement: Part III, will piece together Part I and Part II in a discussion of opportunities for further administrative policy changes and legislative solutions. Solitary Confinement: Part II highlights the voices and experiences of a sample of 13 individuals who have spent extensive time in solitary confinement while incarcerated in the state of Washington. This report also provides key terms, photographs, and further context for public understanding of solitary confinement in Washington State prisons. The goal is to provide greater transparency around the conditions and experiences of people living in solitary.  

By The Washington State Office of the Corrections Ombuds Solitary Confinement Research Team (OCO-SCRT).  Angee Schrader, OCO-SCRT Lead Sara Appleton,  Heather Bates,  Zachary Kinneman, Madison Vinson,  E.V. Webb

Solitary Confinement: Part I is the first of three reports on solitary confinement planned for release throughout the coming months. Part I responds to the legislature’s direction to conduct a review of all incarcerated people who had or have been: 1. housed in solitary confinement or any other form of restrictive housing more than 120 days in total, or 2. housed in solitary confinement or any other form of restrictive housing more than 45 consecutive days in Fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023). Civilian oversight of corrections brings an independent set of eyes and, if done correctly, the values of integrity, respect, collaboration, equity, and courage to bear witness to the ways in which the norms and cultures of carceral systems are rooted in secrecy, a lack of transparency, and rules and regulations. The Washington State Office of the Corrections Ombuds is the only civilian oversight of the Washington state corrections system established in state government with the authority and the responsibility to investigate actions or inactions of the Washington Department of Corrections (WADOC ). The Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO) routinely monitors places that are among the most opaque public institutions in our state – the state’s corrections facilities (prisons and reentry centers). In addition to monitoring prisons and reentry centers, the OCO, in its capacity as the statewide prison oversight mechanism, responds to the governor and legislature’s concerns about conditions of confinement and the inherent dangers of living and working inside corrections facilities. Advocates of eradicating the use of solitary confinement in WADOC have waged a multi-year campaign requesting greater attention be paid to what happens to people living and working inside prisons in the state of Washington. Some elected officials have demanded greater accountability and transparency from the WADOC about the use of solitary confinement. Multiple bills calling for a reduction in solitary confinement have been introduced in the state legislature in recent years; however, none have passed out of the legislature. At the end of the 2023 legislative session, seeing that once again, a bill requiring the WADOC to reduce the use of solitary confinement would not pass out of the legislature, a request was made of the Office of the Corrections Ombuds (OCO) to write a report answering a short list of specific questions about the WADOC ’s historical and current use of solitary confinement. This report, Solitary Confinement: Part I, provides a step-by-step answer to the specific questions asked by the Legislature  

Olympia: The Ombudsman, 2024. 421p.

By Martha Newson, Linus Peitz, Jack Cunliffe & Harvey Whitehouse 

As incarceration rates rise globally, the need to reduce re-offending grows increasingly urgent. We investigate whether positive group bonds can improve behaviours among incarcerated people via a unique soccer-based prison intervention, the Twinning Project. We analyse the effects of participation compared to a control group (study 1, n = 676, n = 1,874 control cases) and longitudinal patterns of social cohesion underlying these effects (study 2, n = 388) in the United Kingdom. We also explore desistance from crime after release (study 3, n = 249) in the United Kingdom and the United States. As law-abiding behaviour also requires a supportive receiving community, we assessed factors influencing willingness to employ formerly incarcerated people in online samples in the United Kingdom and the United States (studies 4–9, n = 1,797). Results indicate that social bonding relates to both improved behaviour within the prison and increased willingness of receiving communities to support reintegration efforts. Harnessing the power of group identities both within prison and receiving communities can help to address the global incarceration crisis.

Nature Human Behaviour (2024)

By Niloufer Taber, Amanda Nowak, Maurice Smith,   Jennifer Yang, Celia Strumph   

Pell Grant restoration took effect on July 1, 2023, making incarcerated people in the United States eligible for need-based federal postsecondary financial aid for the first time in nearly 30 years. Since the launch of the Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative (SCP) in 2016, more than 45,000 incarcerated students have enrolled in SCP programs. Today, there are more than 750,000 people in prison eligible to enroll in a postsecondary program. As the landscape of postsecondary education in prison evolves, so does its potential. In this report, the Vera Institute of Justice offers a snapshot of national progress toward implementation using the interconnected domains of quality, equity, and scale through a “balanced scorecard” approach. Drawing on data collected from surveys to SCP colleges and corrections agencies, the report aggregates individual responses to evaluate the adequacy and the system of education offered to incarcerated people. The result is a snapshot of the progress colleges and corrections agencies have made over the first year of this new era of access and opportunity.

‍Key Takeaway: Serving students in prisons requires collaboration and cooperation across a range of stakeholders. Vera assessed quality, equity, and scale through data aggregated at the level of each jurisdiction. The measures in this report are an invitation

New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2024. 64p.

By Anna Anderson

This National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) report provides an overview of the carceral medical debt problem and policy recommendations and solutions to address the issue. The report provides background on the nature of the carceral medical debt, including the complex healthcare needs of people who are incarcerated, what fees are assessed and why, how these fees impact health outcomes and lead to medical debt, how carceral medical debt affects families and reentry, and private equity and for-profit contractors’ roles in this problem. The report includes an extensive review of the common sources of medical debt and how these debts are collected. It details recent policy victories in the effort to eliminate carceral medical debt, as well as some troubling setbacks. The report concludes with consumer-focused policy reforms to address medical debt related to incarceration.

Boston: National Consumer Law Center, 2024. 46p.

By The National Consumer Law Center

Consumer protection laws apply to incarcerated people. However, because of incarcerated people’s limited and highly regulated contact with the outside world, they struggle to report consumer problems such as identity theft and fraud, as well as abusive practices perpetrated by the private companies that they must rely on for essential services and goods within correctional facilities. Barriers to reporting these problems can render consumer protections toothless for this vulnerable population. Government agencies and correctional facilities can take a meaningful first step towards alleviating these consumer harms by ensuring incarcerated people can easily submit complaints without having to rely on loved ones and advocates who are not incarcerated.

Boston: National Consumer Law Center, 2024. 5p.

By Vasiliki Georgoulas-Sherry,  & Hanna Hernandez

Jail populations continue to be under-evaluated and under-researched. While there is a plethora of research on correctional incarcerated populations, there is a need to better assess jail populations as more people interact with these institutions. To evaluate and research this population, the Washington Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) applied for and received the 2021 State Justice Statistics (SJS) grant from Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Under this grant from BJS, the SAC will draw on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC)'s Jail Booking and Reporting System (JBRS) to evaluate the potential demographic disparities by rates of days in jail and by rates of recidivism. Main conclusions: 1. The proportion of jailed individuals who spent an above average number of days in jail during their initial booking was higher for males, higher for individuals who were part of the BIPOC community and decreased with an increased age of 36 years of age and older. 2. On average, male jailed individuals who recidivated had more days in jail for their initial booking. And, on average, non-BIPOC jailed individuals who recidivated had more days in jail for their initial booking than BIPOC jailed individuals who recidivated. 3. The proportion of jailed individuals who spent an above average number of days in jail following recidivism was higher for males, and BIPOC jailed individuals who recidivated had more days in jail following recidivism. Age did not impact the number of days in jail following recidivism.

Olympia, WA: Washington State Statistical Analysis Center, 2022. 21p.

By Ariel White and Avery Nguyen 

Recent debates about enfranchising incarcerated people raise the question of how many additional votes such policies would generate. Existing research finds very low voter participation among people previously convicted of felonies, but it remains unclear how often people might vote from prison if given the opportunity. We use data from states that allow people to vote while incarcerated for felony crimes to address this question. We merge prison records with the voter file to estimate how many currently incarcerated people are registered and voted in recent elections. Estimates suggest very few (under one in ten) eligible incarcerated voters in Vermont and Maine voted in the most recent congressional election. Given the winning margins in other states’ recent elections, these estimates suggest that enfranchising currently-incarcerated people would likely not have changed these election outcomes. We conclude that debates about enfranchisement should focus on normative issues and not anticipated electoral effects.

Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020.