By Michael F. TenEyck, Sarah A. El Sayed, Clay M. Driscoll and Krysta N. Knox

Racial inequality in arrest is a social problem that has challenged the United States for as long as police records have been kept. Prior work documents the extent of the disparity and observational studies have attempted to sort out the mechanisms that explain why the disparity exists. Building on the “constructivist” perspective of race, the current study draws on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to assess the degree to which race and skin color explain the observed racial disparity in criminal justice contact and arrest. Results revealed that controlling for criminal behavior and a host of covariates, neither race nor skin color increased the likelihood of police contact. Race, however, was predictive of an increase in the odds of arrest—with Black respondents being 92% more likely to experience arrest than White respondents—and this relationship remained controlling for the effects of skin color, police contact, and prior criminal behavior. These findings suggest that the “race effect” may be due to unobserved biases not related to skin color.

Racial inequality in outcomes related to criminal justice contact and processing is a longstanding topic of concern. Recent evidence suggests that while White individuals are more likely to experience police contact, racial/ethnic minorities are disproportionately arrested when contacted (Beck, 2021; Harrell & Davis, 2020). Additionally, changes in policing techniques have led to increases in police contact and arrests. During the early to mid-2000s, nearly 90 percent of police stops did not result in arrests whereas recent data indicates that now only 65% of police stops do not result in arrests (Novak & Gilbreath, 2023). Findings like this have raised many questions among social scientists. One such question draws attention to the potential sources of the inequality. Is it that criminal justice professionals act discriminatorily? Is it that racial minorities are overinvolved in criminal behavior? Or is the answer more complicated?

In the present study, we build on recent developments from epidemiology and sociology which conceptualizes race in the “constructivist” framework (Barnes, 2018; Sen & Wasow, 2016), meaning the term “race” is defined by more than just skin color. In the constructivist tradition, race captures various aspects of one's life including culture, ancestry, and socioeconomic opportunities. This framework conceptualizes race as a composite measure, such that statistically adjusting for its constituent parts will help to unpack the race effect. In this way, race is examined with more depth and moves past simply categorizing race by groups.

This provided the motivation for analyzing the impact, if any, of skin color on initial contact by police and adulthood arrest. While only briefly touched upon within the criminological literature (Alcalá & Montoya, 2018; Finkeldey & Demuth, 2021; Kizer, 2017), colorism—or the differential treatment of individuals based on the color of their skin—has been shown to offer lighter-skinned citizens more advantages and privileges than darker-skinned citizens (Dixon & Telles, 2017; Monk, 2014; Ryabov, 2016). If skin color has an impact and statistically adjusting for skin color reduces the effect of racial classification on arrest, then we can begin to better understand the “race effect” on the arrest. This is an important endeavor for at least two reasons. First, if skin color, even after adjusting for race, is a predictor of criminal justice processing, then this finding would support arguments that racial biases play a role in criminal justice contact. Second, if skin color is not found to predict criminal justice processing after adjusting for race, it would suggest that other components of the race variable are the mechanisms of action causing racial inequalities.

We believe this is both a timely and broadly important research focus given the increasing scrutiny placed on American criminal justice professionals, especially police officers, and the racial inequality narratives that increasingly dominate colloquial conversation (Trinkner et al., 2019). The findings from this study could help shape the national narrative by identifying the potential sources in need of intervention to reduce the prevalence of inequalities in criminal justice outcomes and aid in criminal justice reforms. But first, the following section will review the available literature that speaks to the association between race and contact with the criminal justice system, the impact of race and skin color on police contact and arrest, and then end with a theoretical framework for the current study

Race and Justice Volume 0: Ahead of Print, 2024

By Bradley Read

This article suggests that the parole dossier may be working to damage prisoners’ sense of their identity through the creation of a carceral script which describes a person whom they do not recognise as themselves, and which leads to an increased narrative labour. Prisoners struggle, therefore, under that labour to form a post-offence identity with which to navigate a complex process such as parole. As identity, and its repair, appear instrumental to desistance, elements of the process, such as the dossier, could be putting hopes of rehabilitation at risk. Using the analysis of 15 prisoner interviews, this article explores a parole process described as undermining agency. A process where risk assessment is perceived poorly and where ultimately the experience can lead to negative impacts on an already fragile self-identity. In conclusion, this article attempts to offer some solutions, to mitigate the negative effects, with a view to maximising the potential impact of the dossier process on future desistance, through the more meaningful involvement of the prisoner at its centre.

Criminology & Criminal Justice Volume 0: Ahead of Print, 2024.

By Michelle Butler, Dominic Kelly, Catherine B. McNamee

Purpose: This study investigates whether men who engage in dual harm while imprisoned are disproportionately involved in committing misconduct during a 1-year follow-up period. It also examines whether dual harm is significantly associated with future involvement in misconduct, when other known risk factors for misconduct are considered, and whether this relationship varies depending on the type of misconduct examined.

Methods: Drawing on the administrative records of 430 men who were imprisoned during the 1-year follow-up period, a combination of descriptive statistics and negative binominal regressions was used to analyse the data.

Results: Roughly one-in-four men engaged in dual harm while imprisoned and were responsible for over half of all misconduct incidents recorded during the follow-up period. A significant relationship between dual harm, as well as violence-only harm compared to no harm, and future involvement in misconduct was also observed even when other known risk factors for misconduct were considered but only for violent and disorder-related misconduct, demonstrating this relationship varied by harm history and type of misconduct examined.

Conclusion: These findings address previous gaps in knowledge, advancing our understanding of the relationship between dual harm and misconduct. Possible explanations for why, compared to no-harm history, dual harm as well as violence-only harm was only related to violent and disorder-related misconduct are offered, alongside possible implications of this research for policy and practice.

Legal and Criminological Psychology Volume 29, Issue 1 Feb 2024

By Sara Wakefield, Lars Højsgaard Andersen

Using unique Danish register data that allow for comparisons across both conviction and incarceration status, this article analyzes the association between pretrial detention and work, family attachment, and recidivism. We find that pretrial detention may impose unique social costs, apart from conviction or additional punishments. Most notably, men who are detained pretrial experience poorer labor market trajectories than men who are convicted of a crime (but not incarcerated). Importantly, this result holds even for men who are detained pretrial but who are not convicted of the crime. Consistent with prior research, we also find that pretrial detention is unrelated to later family formation but might disrupt pre-existing household arrangements. Finally, the associations between pretrial detention and work and family life are not counterbalanced by reductions in recidivism.

Sociological Science 7: 342-366. 2020.

By U.S. Government Accountability Office; Gretta L. Goodwin

Why GAO Did This Study - DOJ’s BOP is responsible for confining individuals in safe, humane, and appropriately secure conditions. In certain circumstances, such as alleged or substantiated violence, BOP can move individuals to restrictive housing, and generally isolate them in cells for up to 23 hours per day. As of October 2023, BOP continued to house about 8 percent of its population (about 12,000 individuals) in these settings. Strengthening management of federal prisons was added to GAO’s high-risk list earlier this year. Among its objectives, GAO was asked to examine the extent to which BOP (1) addressed recommendations from two prior restrictive housing studies; and (2) leveraged facility information to ensure restrictive housing policy compliance and enhance operations. GAO analyzed BOP policies and data; interviewed BOP officials; and conducted non-generalizable interviews with staff and incarcerated individuals at five BOP facilities— selected to cover a range of restrictive housing unit types. What GAO Recommends - GAO is making eight recommendations to BOP, including that it assign responsibility and establish time frames for recommendation implementation and identify the cause of racial disparity in SMU placements. BOP concurred with the eight recommendations but raised related concerns; GAO discusses these in the report.

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office, 2024. 79p.

By Matthew J. Iaconetti, Tracey Kyckelhahn, and Amanda Kerbel,

This report provides in-depth information on federal firearms offenders sentenced under the primary firearms guideline, §2K2.1. The Commission has published reports on various aspects of firearms offenses, including reports on armed career criminals, mandatory minimum penalties, and firearms offenders’ recidivism rates. The Commission’s prior research shows that firearms offenders are generally younger, have more extensive criminal history, and are more likely to commit a new crime than other offenders. The Commission’s previous research also shows that firearms offenders are more likely than other offenders to engage in violent criminal behavior. This publication continues the Commission’s work and provides detailed information about offenders sentenced under §2K2.1.

Washington, DC: United States Sentencing Commission, 2022. 46p.

By the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for developing sound correctional practices and adhering to its policies that ensure the safety and security of federal inmates in its care. High-profile inmate deaths at BOP institutions, such as the homicide of James “Whitey” Bulger in 2018 and the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, brought national focus to the BOP’s operational and management challenges, and U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) investigations of these deaths identified serious BOP job performance and management failures. Additionally, Congress and prisoner advocacy groups have expressed concerns about the BOP’s efforts to prevent inmate deaths, particularly following several inmate homicides at U.S. Penitentiary (USP) Hazelton and USP Thomson. The OIG initiated this evaluation to assess the circumstances surrounding deaths among inmates at BOP institutions that occurred from fiscal year (FY) 2014 through FY 2021 and to evaluate how the BOP seeks to prevent future deaths. We analyzed the frequency and pattern of deaths among BOP inmates in four categories: (1) suicide, (2) homicide, (3) accident, and (4) those resulting from unknown factors. We also identified potential management deficiencies and systemic issues related to those deaths, including the prevalence of long-standing operational challenges highlighted in prior OIG work. Recommendations We make 12 recommendations to assist the BOP in addressing risk factors that contribute to inmate deaths

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, 2024. 111p.

By Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Emma Stammen and Connie Budaci

In San Joaquin County, California in 2010, 19-year-old Emmanuel Mendoza helped lure a robbery victim to a location where a masked accomplice waited with a firearm. When a struggle with the victim over the firearm ensued, Mendoza’s accomplice fired a fatal shot. Although Mendoza did not have a weapon and the killing had not been planned, he was convicted of felony murder with special circumstances, and automatically sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). In prison, he ended his gang affiliation and mentored others to do the same, earned a GED and associate degree, embraced his faith, and has been an active father to his three children. “I understand that at the end of the day someone lost their life,” Mendoza says. “Our plan that night wasn’t to kill anyone. I can’t take it back. But I also feel that it was a huge injustice to not be given an attempt at freedom.” Murder typically refers to an intentional killing. But “felony murder” laws hold people like Mendoza liable for murder if they participated in a felony, such as a robbery, that resulted in someone’s death. These laws impose sentences associated with murder on people who neither intended to kill nor anticipated a death, and even on those who did not participate in the killing. As such, they violate the principle of proportional sentencing, which is supposed to punish crimes based on their severity. These excessively punitive outcomes violate widely shared perceptions of justice. With one in seven people in U.S. prisons serving a life sentence, ending mass incarceration requires bold action to reduce extreme prison terms such as those prescribed for felony murder. These laws run counter to public safety, fiscal responsibility, and justice. Although other countries have largely rejected the felony murder doctrine, 48 states, the District of Columbia, and the federal government still use these laws. The only two states that do not have felony murder laws are Hawaii and Kentucky. Seven other states require some proof of intentionality regarding the killing to consider it murder, though the use of a gun—or mere knowledge of a co-defendant’s gun use—satisfies this requirement in some jurisdictions. In any case, all felony murder laws use the underlying felony to either a) treat as murder a killing that would not have otherwise been considered murder, or b) increase the gradation of murder, such as from second to first degree.

Washington, DC: The Sentencing Project, 2022. 36p.

By Aimee Brinn, John Preston, Rosina Costello, Tyler Opoku, Emily Sampson, Ian Elliott and Annie Sorbie

The Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) is an accredited offending behaviour programme designed and delivered by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). TSP is suitable for adult men and women assessed to be at medium and above risk of reoffending. TSP is the highest volume accredited programme delivered in custody.

The TSP is designed to reduce general reoffending by supporting improvements in four ways:

• 1. Developing thinking skills (such as problem solving, flexible thinking, consequential thinking, critical reasoning)

• 2. Applying these skills to managing personal risk factors

• 3. Applying thinking skills to developing personally relevant protective factors

• 4. Applying thinking skills to setting pro-social goals that support relapse prevention.

The programme format comprises 19 sessions (15 group sessions and 4 individual sessions, resulting in around 38 hours of contact time (dose).

The Evaluation

The aim of this evaluation is to assess the impact of TSP delivered in prison on proven general reoffending within a two-year follow-up period.

The analysis involved a treatment group of 20,293 adults (18,555 males, 1,738 females) who participated in the TSP programme between 2010 and 2019 and this was compared to a matched comparison group of 375,647 adults (345,084 males, 30,563 females) who did not participate in the programme. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to ensure comparable treatment and comparison groups. The evaluation used the largest number of PSM matching variables for a HMPPS accredited programme evaluation to date.

The evaluation also has a large sample size which means it is likely to be representative of the population of TSP participants. A larger sample generates more precise results and increases the power of statistical testing. This increases the likelihood of finding a statistically significant finding (i.e., not due to chance) even if the difference between the treatment group and the matched comparison group is small. All adults in this study were released from prison between 2010 and 2020.

The impact of TSP was evaluated against three proven general reoffending metrics over a two-year follow up period:

• 1. Binary measure of reoffending (reoffending rate) – did they re-offend?

• 2. Frequency of re-offences committed – How many re-offences over the two-year period?

• 3. Time to first re-offence

Males and females were analysed separately due to the known differences in reoffending behaviour. Headline results include all participants in the programme, separated by gender. Analyses were conducted to investigate the potentially differential effect of TSP participation on distinct subgroups and to provide information on how differences in TSP delivery may impact on its effectiveness. It was not always possible to conduct sub-analyses due to small sample sizes.

Four key sub-analyses (more details are in ‘Explanation of sub-analyses’) were identified as potentially important moderators of TSP effectiveness:

• Suitability for TSP (ideally suitable and not ideally suitable)

• Completion of TSP (completed and not completed)

• Programme integrity using the HMPPS 2016-2019 Interventions Integrity Framework (broadly maintained and compromised)

• Risk of reoffending prior to TSP (Offender Group Reconviction Score (OGRS): low, medium, or high risk of reoffending).

Additional sub-analyses were conducted to provide further context and explanation of results included:

• Index offence group (acquisitive offences, sexual offences, and OVP (OASys Violence Predictor) offences – based on grouping of Home Office offence codes)

• Exclusivity of TSP (participation in TSP only and in one or more other accredited programmes)

• Ethnic group (‘Asian and Asian British’, ‘Black, Black British, Caribbean, and African’, ‘mixed and multiple ethnic groups’, and ‘White’, as per Office for National Statistics aggregate categories)

• Learning Disabilities and Challenges (LDC) (more likely to present with characteristics associated with LDC and less likely to present with characteristics associated with LDC)

• Age (18-25, 26-30, 31-49 and 50+)

London: Ministry of Justice, 2023. 92p.

By David H. Cloud, Ilana R. Garcia-Grossman,  Andrea Armstrong, and Brie Williams

Mass incarceration is a socio-structural driver of profound health inequalities in the United States. The political and economic forces underpinning mass incarceration are deeply rooted in centuries of the enslavement of people of African descent and the genocide and displacement of Indigenous people and is inextricably connected to labor exploitation, racial discrimination, the criminalization of immigration, and behavioral health problems such as mental illness and substance use disorders. This article focuses on major public health crises and advances in state and federal prisons and discusses a range of practical strategies for health scholars, practitioners, and activists to promote the health and dignity of incarcerated people. It begins by summarizing the historical and sociostructural factors that have led to mass incarceration in the United States. It then describes the ways in which prison conditions create or worsen chronic, communicable, and behavioral health conditions, while highlighting priority areas for public health research and intervention to improve the health of incarcerated people, including decarceral solutions that can profoundly minimize—and perhaps one day help abolish—the use of prisons.   

United States, Annual Review Public Health. 2023, 29pg

By The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General

Our inspection identified several serious operational deficiencies at FCI Tallahassee. Among the most concerning were the alarming conditions of its food service and storage operations. Specifically, on our second day at the institution, we observed inmates being served moldy bread and vegetables rotting in a refrigerator in a food preparation area at the female prison. We also observed in food storage warehouses likely evidence of rodent droppings and rodents having chewed through boxes of food, as well as bags of cereal with insects in them and warped food containers. Within 24 hours of the OIG alerting institution management of our findings, they and other staff removed large volumes of food from the storage warehouses. We also identified in the female prison serious infrastructure problems that created unsanitary and potentially unsafe conditions. Inside communal inmate bathrooms, we observed a shower in which discolored water had pooled, a shower that flooded when used, and an inoperable toilet. We also found that female housing unit roofs routinely leak and that all five general population housing unit roofs need to be replaced. Many female inmates live in housing units in which water frequently leaks from ceilings and windows on or near their living spaces. We observed housing areas in which feminine hygiene products were being used to absorb water from leaking windows, an electrical outlet that appeared to have fire damage, a sink that was detached from the wall, and a black substance on walls and ceilings. Additionally, we observed worn bedding, rusted inmate storage lockers, and unlocked supply closets. Most staff and inmates reported feeling safe and did not believe that sexual abuse was widespread at FCI Tallahassee. We nonetheless identified serious issues affecting inmate safety, including Correctional Officer shortages, a lack of supervisory oversight at the male detention center, and operational deficiencies in core inmate management and security functions, such as weaknesses with inmate search procedures and limited security camera coverage. Staff and inmates also told us that staff do not always enforce rules consistently, and inmates believed that certain staff took retaliatory measures against them. Additionally, inmates reported that some Correctional Officers use offensive language when speaking with them. We found that, collectively, these issues have adversely affected the trust inmates have in Correctional Officers, which can cause some inmates to be unwilling to report staff and inmate misconduct due to fear of reprisal. We also found that FCI Tallahassee’s Health Services Department is experiencing significant staffing shortages, with 38 percent of its positions vacant, which is consistent with challenges associated with hiring healthcare professionals across the BOP. While we found that Health Services Department staff work hard to complete many of the core tasks within timeframes set by BOP policy, staff shortages have negatively affected healthcare treatment, including causing staff to modify the time of day it distributes insulin and drugs to female inmates, which may limit the therapeutic benefit of these drugs for certain inmates. Separately, we observed a healthcare provider failing to ask required questions during inmate intake screenings and not informing inmates how to access healthcare services. We note that many of the issues we detail in this report were longstanding and that much of FCI Tallahassee’s executive leadership team is new to the institution. For example, the Warden reported for duty there in January 2023. He and the leadership team were aware of many of the issues detailed in the report and at the time of our inspection had been taking steps to address them. We appreciated the full cooperation they and their staff provided to the OIG team during the inspection. 

Washington, DC, U.S. Department of Justice. 2023, 49pg

By Graham Durcan

Nine out of ten prisoners have at least one mental health or substance misuse problem. Commissioned by NHS England, this report compares current levels of need with prison mental health provision. Centre for Mental Health conducted a survey of current English prison mental health caseloads, staffing, skills, gaps in need and processes. With the support of regional commissioners and local leads, this involved the distribution of three surveys to all English prisons, young adult Young Offender Institutions (for over 18-year-olds) and Young Offender Institutions (for under 18s) in the summer of 2021. 

Just over three-quarters of England’s prisons and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) returned at least one of the survey forms. This exercise followed on from a consultation and evidence gathering review on the future of adult prison mental health care, also commissioned by NHS England. 

United Kingdom, Centre for Mental Health. 2023, 55pg

By Thomas Guiney and Henry Yeomans

This article seeks to explain the persistence of high incarceration rates in England and Wales. Building upon recent theoretical work on path dependence, we identify prison population forecasting as a poorly understood positive feedback mechanism that helps to determine the overall scale, scope and reach of the prison estate by connecting capital expenditure decisions with ‘business as usual’ planning cycles that assume considerable policy continuity with the past. We illustrate this point with reference to recent controversies over women's imprisonment where the everyday, routinised working practices of the penal system have played an important role in sustaining prison expansionism long after the initial conditions that fuelled the mid-1990s prison boom have faded. Disrupting these self-fulfilling logics will not be easy and we conclude this article with a call for a more deliberative democratic politics that confronts penal momentum and invites greater consideration of the many possible futures of penal policy.

United Kingdom, Howard Journal of Crime and Justice. 2022, 16pg

By Cat Jones and Clare Lally

England and Wales have the highest per capita prison population in Western Europe. In October 2023, over 88,000 people were imprisoned, in an estate with a maximum capacity of 88,890. This was the highest number recorded. 94% of people in prison are adult men and the adult male prison estate is almost full. The prison estate is operating at 99% of its usable operational capacity and over 60% of prisons are overcrowded. Drivers of the current prison population growth include changes in sentencing policy (including increased sentence lengths). Other factors include remand, recall, reoffending and policing. The number of people given immediate custodial sentences has fallen from 98,044 in 2012, to 67,812 in 2022. This suggests that the prison population increase is not driven by more convictions. Nearing capacity can have negative implications for the safe operation of prisons, and for the health, wellbeing and rehabilitation of people in prison. Government action to avoid exceeding capacity includes expanding the prison estate and releasing some prisoners up to 18 days early. As of December 2023, three relevant bills are progressing through Parliament: the Sentencing Bill 2023, the Criminal Justice Bill 2023, and the Victims and Prisoners Bill 2023. Each contains a range of measures, with some likely to reduce the prison population and others likely to increase it. Various stakeholders have proposed additional policy options, such as the greater use of non-custodial sentences, and interventions to reduce the remand and recall populations. Some experts in this field have highlighted the role of public opinion in relation to sentencing policy and the relationship between prisons and the wider justice system. Evidence suggests that the public generally overestimate crime rates and underestimate sentence lengths, and that better-informed members of the public are less likely to view sentences as lenient. More high-quality research is needed to better understand the drivers of increased sentence length and to evaluate health and rehabilitation programmes in the prison context.  

United Kingdom, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology. 2024, 33pg

By Andrea Armstrong

This latest report in a series continues to examine deaths among incarcerated people in Louisiana. From 2015 to 2021, at least 1,168 incarcerated people died behind bars in prisons, jails, and youth detention centers across Louisiana. Since our last report analyzing deaths 2015-2019, an additional 375 incarcerated people have died behind bars.

Approximately 86% of known deaths behind bars were of people serving a sentence for conviction of a crime. Deaths of people being held pre-trial, i.e. had not yet had a trial on their criminal charges, constituted 13.44% of all known deaths.

New Orleans, Loyola University College of Law. 2023, 75pg

By: Food Matters

The World Health Organisation has emphasised the importance of seeing prisons as whole food systems. In this paper, Food Matters highlights numerous opportunities for food to play a broader role in prison life. In January 2023, Food Matters organised a roundtable workshop to discuss the issue of food in prisons, involving experts from the voluntary sector, academia, and individuals with lived prison experience. The central theme was the significant role of food in prisons and its impact on the lives of those held in them. We coupled the findings from this workshop with a review of related policy and literature in an interim paper which was shared with key stakeholders, including His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, the Care Quality Commission, the Independent Monitoring Board, Clinks and other voluntary sector organisations. This paper explores the crucial role of food in shaping prisoners' identities and relationships and its potential to have positive impacts in prisons, including fostering relationships; promoting education, exercise and meaningful activities; enhancing cultural understanding improving physical and mental health; enhancing safety; and reducing reoffending. Food Matters has concluded that food should move from being a functional aspect of prisons to become a focal point for various activities and improvements to prison regimes. Key findings and considerations include: Opportunities for building on existing initiatives: Positive initiatives related to food and nutrition have been undertaken in prisons by voluntary sector organisations, supported by HMPPS and/or individual governors and more recently by HMPPS itself in promoting self-production initiatives and creating healthy recipes. However, limited resources and short-term funding have hindered the sustainability and longterm impact of these efforts. There is potential for collectively sharing best practices and building an evidence base for food and growing-related initiatives across prisons. Opportunities for greater transparency over food quality, standards, and sustainability following strengthened government commitments to adopting sustainable food procurement, the introduction of new nutritional guidance for public catering, and requirements for data reporting on food procurement and waste. More broadly, there is potential for widespread adoption of mainstream public health initiatives in prisons, including accreditation schemes for caterers and food suppliers. There is also scope for enhanced independent inspection and parliamentary oversight to encourage more creative approaches to be taken, building on a thematic review that explored the role of food in connection, comfort, and mental health support in prisons. Opportunities for HMPPS to adopt a strategic approach to developing food-related initiatives, integrated within a range of policies and practices such as rehabilitation, learning and skills development, family ties, and well-being and ensure that opportunities for self-catering, communal dining, and sustainable food production are maximized in redevelopment and new building projects.

Brighton , UK: Food Matters, 2024. 42p.

By: Mandy Spears

A companion report looks at historical trends in Tennessee’s incarcerated and corrections populations. Two additional reports will focus on community supervision, prison releases, and recidivism as well as pre-trial incarceration.

Key Takeaways:

• Funded almost entirely by state revenues, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) is consistently among the state’s six largest state revenue expenses.

• Incarceration costs make up over 80% of TDOC spending.

• Since FY 1995, TDOC spending increased by an average of 4.1% per year — the same as growth in overall state revenue spending.

• TDOC houses 27% of state prisoners in local jails to manage overcrowding in state facilities, a factor in slowing the growth of the department’s budget.

Nashville, TN: The Sycamore Institute, 2019. 7p.

By: Mandy Spears

This report provides context for discussions about criminal justice reform, using historical data to reveal trends in Tennessee’s incarcerated and corrections populations. It focuses on state prisoners, who fall under the jurisdiction of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC).

A companion report looks at the budgetary aspects of incarceration in Tennessee. Two additional reports will focus on community supervision, prison releases, and recidivism as well as pre-trial incarceration.

Key Takeaways:

• Tennessee’s state felony incarceration rate grew 68% from FY 1991-2018. Trends in state incarceration and crime rates vary significantly by offense type.

• State prisoners are disproportionately black, although the proportion of black inmates is falling. White women are the fastest growing segment of state prisoners.

• The state prisoner population is getting older, which could affect the state budget since older individuals tend to incur more medical expenses.

• In FY 2018, Tennessee housed 73% of its incarcerated felons in state prisons and 27% in local jails. The majority of state prisoners in local jails are waiting for space in a state facility.

• Average sentences and time served are getting longer for most offense types, especially drug offenders who make up a growing share of incarcerations.

Nashville, TN: The Syramore Institute, 2019. 11p.

By Bryce Tuggle

State and local leaders have implemented social distancing and “Safer at Home” policies to slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. However, Tennessee’s local jails and state prisons may not have the space required to minimize risks of transmission between inmates, staff, and the community. This report explains why many Tennessee jail and prison populations face increased risks from COVID-19 and how that creates additional risks for the general public. Figure 1. 46 of Tennessee’s 116 Active Local Jails Had More Inmates than Beds in February 2020 Occupancy rate is the number of inmates on February 29, 2020 divided by bed capacity. Capacity is measured as the number of beds inspected by the Tennessee Corrections Institute in the most recent quarter. Numbers over 100 indicate that the jail was operating over capacity. Source: Tennessee Department of Correction Monthly Jail Report

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The most recent available data show 60% of Tennessee’s local jails and state prisons were near, at, or over capacity at the end of February. Of 116 active jails, 46 had more inmates than beds.

• The close quarters of jails and prisons operating near, at, or over capacity make it harder to take steps public health experts recommend to slow the spread of COVID-19.

• Jails and prisons could potentially serve as reservoirs for future COVID-19 outbreaks among the general public due to the heightened infection risks for inmates, staff, and those around them.

• As TDOC and some county sheriffs take steps to combat COVID-19 in their facilities, state and local leaders may want to consider more ways to protect health while guarding public safety

Nashville: The Sycamore Institute, 2020. 9p.

By: Nacro

This is the first in a series of briefings that will examine the practical steps that can be taken to support people in contact with the criminal justice system to create better futures. The series will include practical and cost-effective steps to help prisons better prepare people for release, and provide them with the skills, training, knowledge and support they’ll need to thrive and create better lives on the outside. This briefing looks at work and wages in prison and the impact those can have on people’s ability to turn their lives around on release. It’s particularly important right now because of the cost of living crisis. We know that, for many, prison wages are all they have to get by on in prison. Wages are used to buy phone credit to keep in touch with friends and family, to buy the basic things they need, and to save for release. We want to propose a better, fairer, system that ensures that everyone can work to support themselves both during their time in prison, and on release. We believe it is a false economy to create what is for many an environment of poverty in prison, as it can lead to bullying and violence, and ultimately means that Government has to spend more on the basics for people in prison and on release as they are unable to provide them for themselves. Our solutions are set out in full below, but we believe that the main things to focus on are: Developing skills and earning qualifications: Making sure that work and education opportunities are available to everyone in prison, focusing on ensuring that people can develop the skills and qualifications that they will need on release. Jobs should be linked to qualifications and skills and based on a comprehensive understanding of the local job market so that training is preparing people for work in industries where there are employment shortages. Improved use of ROTL: It needs to become the norm that all people in prison who are eligible have genuine opportunities to be released during the day to enable them to work in the community and earn a real wage. A real working day: People should be provided with a working pattern that, as far as is possible, mimics the working day on the outside, and prison regimes and staffing profiles should prioritise this. This provides people, who are able to, in prison with the experience of working full time. It would also make setting up workshops etc in prison a more attractive proposition for outside employers who would then see that their investment would be returned in the productivity of their workforce, rather than trying to make contracts work where there is limited productive time in the working day. Fair pay so people can pay for the things they need: Establish a national pay scale for people in prison, reviewing current wages to ensure that people in prison have sufficient funds to buy the things that they need, keep in touch with friends and family and save for release Fair prices so people can pay for the things they need: In addition to establishing a national pay scale for people in prison, we must also ensure that the items that they can buy, and the phone calls that they make, are priced fairly and in line with prices in the community. Saving for release: With a national payscale and increased wages, a portion of prison wages should be saved in a ringfenced Resettlement Fund. Needs-based and administered independently, this fund would be available to people in the run up to release and post-release to support with their transition to the community. It should be flexible to be able to support with things such as a rent deposit or to fund the completion of a qualification started in prison. This fund should be considered when reviewing prison wages to ensure people are able to buy the things they need and contribute to the Fund. Priority for the best jobs in preparation for release: Introduce a system so that towards the end of an individual’s prison term they have priority for the higher paid roles with automatic saving of a portion of that wage in the resettlement fund referred to above. People should have a fair chance of getting the better paid jobs by ensuring they have every opportunity to gain enhanced status. This would help to prepare people for work once released as the higher paid jobs in prison are often the ones with more responsibility and accountability

London: Nacro, 2023. 16p.