Recently in Corrections Category

Source: Malcolm C. Young, Northwestern University School of Law, June 2009

From the press release:
Illinois is positioned to follow New York's lead in reducing crime and incarceration rates while opening the door to much needed savings in the state budget, according to a new Northwestern University School of Law report.

The report contrasts the crime-fighting strategies of New York and California, two large states that moved in different directions, to offer Illinois lessons about what will and won't work in combating crime during an unprecedented downturn in the economy.

New York's effective crime-fighting reforms are cited in contrast to the pitfalls of California's "three-strikes-you're-out" politics, inflexible sentencing schemes and uncontrolled corrections costs.

Source: Mark A. R. Kleiman, Washington Monthly, Vol. 41 no. 7/8, July/August 2009

How smarter parole and probation can cut the nation's incarceration rate.

Source: John Buntin, Governing, Vol. 22 no. 11, August 2009

Can the lessons of welfare reform be applied to the prison system?

Source: Christine Scott-Hayward, Vera institute of Justice, July 29, 2009

From the summary:
States across the United States are facing the worst fiscal crisis in years. All but two states are dealing with budget deficits, and spending is being cut across the board. Second only to Medicaid, corrections has become the fastest growing general fund expenditure in the United States. Considered off limits for many years, corrections budgets are now subject to these same cuts. Based on a survey of enacted FY2010 state budgets and other recent sentencing and corrections legislation, this new report from Vera's Center on Sentencing and Corrections found that at least 22 states have reversed the trend of recent decades and cut funding for corrections. This report examines the form of these cuts, including reductions in operational costs, reforms in release policy, and strategies for reducing recidivism, and it highlights some of the innovations that states are pursuing for long-term savings while also maintaining public safety.

Source: Jesse Bogan, Forbes, July 13, 2009

Budget-strapped counties are being crushed by the costs of incarceration. But there are solutions.

Source: Justice Policy Institute, May 2009

As the United States grapples with harsh economic realities, states and localities continue to cut budgets, shed jobs, and trim institutions that are not cost-effective. Among the least cost-effective are prison and jail systems. Federal, state and local governments are spending a combined $68 billion dollars a year on a system that does not definitively improve public safety, but, instead, destabilizes communities, harms families, and derails the lives of individuals. Research has shown that over the last 10 years, states that have increased their prison populations have not seen concurrent decreases in violent crime. At the same time, the states that have reduced their incarceration rates have seen some of the largest drops in violent crime.

While system changes can be daunting, policymakers can save money and improve public safety by making incremental changes today which use existing, evidence based strategies to reduce correctional populations and spending. The primary findings in this brief include:
- The United States' prison system continues to grow every year.
- The United States spends billions of dollars on incarceration each year.
- Increasing the availability of parole could save government agencies millions of dollars.
- Improving parole services and supports could save states millions of dollars.
- Substance abuse treatment provided in the community is more cost-effective than
imprisonment.
- Community-based programs are cost effective and improve public safety.
- Incarcerating people with mental illnesses is expensive and ineffective.
- Reinvesting money now spent on incarceration in other social institutions will improve public safety in the long term.
- Some states have already started to reduce their prison populations to save money.

Source: PEW Center on the States, Public Safety Policy Brief, no. 8, May 2009

Over one million felony offenders are sentenced in state courts annually, accounting for 94 percent of all felony convictions in the United States. Sixty to 80 percent of state felony defendants are placed on probation, fined or jailed in their local communities. Although the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, there are nearly three times more offenders on probation than in state prisons. Recidivism rates among these felony defendants are at unprecedented levels. Almost 60 percent have been previously convicted and more than 40 percent of those on probation fail to complete probation successfully. The high recidivism rate among felons on probation pushes up state crime rates and is one of the principal contributors to our extraordinarily high incarceration rates. High recidivism rates also contribute to the rapidly escalating cost of state corrections, the second fastest growing expenditure item in state budgets over the past 20 years.

For many years, conventional wisdom has been that "nothing works" to change offender behavior--that once an offender has turned to crime little can be done to help turn his or her life around. Today, however, there is a voluminous body of solid research showing that certain "evidence-based" sentencing and corrections practices do work and can reduce crime rates as effectively as prisons at much lower cost. A comprehensive study by the Washington legislature, for example, showed that greater use of these evidence-based practices would reduce Washington's crime rate by 8 percent while saving taxpayers over $2 billion in additional prison construction. As the United States faces the prospect of its deepest and longest recession since the Great Depression, we cannot afford to ignore the opportunity to reduce offender recidivism and resulting high crime rates through use of these cost-effective evidence-based practices.

Source: Justice Policy Institute, May 2009

Approximately 93,000 young people are held in juvenile justice facilities across the United States. Seventy percent of these youth are held in state-funded, postadjudication, residential facilities, at an average cost of $240.99 per day per youth. With states facing serious budgetary constraints, it is an opportune time for policymakers to consider ways to reduce juvenile justice spending that won't compromise public safety.

Source: National Institute of Corrections Academy, 2009
(media file)

Budget reductions don't discriminate. Correctional agencies are being hit hard in these tough economic times with no relief from mandates. Prisons, jails, and community corrections are all faced with increasing workloads, combined with diminishing resources. Amid the worsening financial crisis, there are opportunities to implement evidence-based strategies that can maximize resources while preserving public safety. This 3-hour program, originally broadcast April 15, 2009, will provide an overview of opportunities that can correctional organizations stay afloat in the current environment. Participants will be able to: explore the events and decisions that have contributed to the current fiscal crisis facing corrections; identify strategies for successfully managing operations with evidence-based practices; describe safe, effective criminal justice models that maximize resources while maintaining public safety; and identify partnerships for accessing community resources that can help corrections address challenges.

Source: Council of State Governments Justice Center, 2009

The Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project, coordinated by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, is an unprecedented, national effort to help local, state, and federal policymakers and criminal justice and mental health professionals improve the response to people with mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

The landmark Consensus Project Report, which was written by Justice Center staff and representatives of leading criminal justice and mental health organizations, was released in June 2002. Since then, Justice Center staff working on the Consensus Project have supported the implementation of practical, flexible criminal justice/mental health strategies through on-site technical assistance; the dissemination of information about programs, research, and policy developments in the field; continued development of policy recommendations; and educational presentations.
See also:
- The Law Enforcement Response to People with Mental Illnesses: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice