Justice Reinvestment in Alabama 1 st Presentation to Prison Reform Task Force June 10, 2014 Andy Barbee, Research Manager Marc Pelka, Program Director Patrick Armstrong, Program Associate Ellen Whelan-Wuest, Policy Analyst
Council of State Governments Justice Center • National non-profit, non-partisan membership association of state government officials • Engages members of all three branches of state government • Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice informed by the best available evidence 2 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Goal of Justice Reinvestment and Our Funding Partners Justice Reinvestment a data-driven approach to reduce corrections spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can decrease recidivism and increase public safety 3 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Key Characteristics about Justice Reinvestment Process Intensity of the Comprehensive data Extensive stakeholder approach analyses engagement Reinvestment and Broad scope of Consensus reflected in improving current policy options policy packages spending Direct resources Focus on improving Hold offenders towards greatest public safety accountable recidivism reduction 4 Council of State Governments Justice Center
18 States Have Used a Justice Reinvestment Approach with Assistance from the CSG Justice Center NH VT ID WI MI RI PA CT NV OH IN WV KS NC AZ OK TX HI 5 Council of State Governments Justice Center
National Conservative Leaders Making the Case for More Effective Criminal Justice Policy “But on issues of sentencing reform and prison recidivism, Republicans — especially several governors in Southern states — have been the leaders, earning praise from prison reform groups on both sides of the aisle for efforts to save money by implementing rehabilitation programs and curbing skyrocketing prison costs .” Source: Lowery, Wesley, “Conservatives try to make criminal justice reform a signature issue,” Washington Post , March 7, 2014. Logo source: www.rightoncrime.com and www.cpac.org 6 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Ten Southern States Have Enacted Criminal Justice Reforms Since 2007 WV 2013 KY North Carolina 2011 Commissioner Guice NC North Carolina Division of Adult 2011 OK AR Corrections and Juvenile Justice SC 2012 2011 2010 “We want to improve our MS AL GA criminal justice system 2014 2012 and protect the public, TX LA and we recognize that our 2007 2011 system can accomplish this goal in a less costly fashion.” Texas Mississippi Senator Whitmire Governor Bryant “We pledged to Mississippians that we “You can always lock somebody up … would make this the ‘public safety And it’s not always the toughest session,’ and we have worked hard to thing. The toughest thing you can do, develop a research-based plan that is and probably the most conservative tough on crime while using tax dollars thing you can do, is prevent the next wisely.” crime.” 7 Council of State Governments Justice Center
State Leadership Requested Assistance to Address Alabama’s Criminal Justice Challenges …Alabama is interested in analyzing…and developing policy options around… • Court procedures and sentencing • Jails and misdemeanor probation • Data on reported crime and • Prison admissions and length of arrests stay • Problem-solving court policies • Corrections and parole processes • Felony probation and parole • Community corrections • Recidivism rates supervision • Behavioral health 8 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Two Phases of Justice Reinvestment Phase I Phase 2 Analyze Data and Implement New Policies Develop Policy Options • Analyze data • Identify assistance needed to implement policies effectively – crime/arrests, courts, corrections, and supervision trends • Deploy targeted reinvestment strategies to increase public safety • Solicit input from stakeholders • Track the impact of enacted • Assess quality of investments in policies/programs efforts to reduce recidivism • Monitor recidivism rates and other • Develop policy options and estimate key measures impacts 9 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Typical Timeline for Justice Reinvestment Phase I Process Phase I - Analyze Data & Develop Policy Options Collect and Examine Engage Stakeholders Quantitative Data Judges Develop and present a Reported crime and Prosecutors comprehensive analysis of arrests Defense Bar the state’s criminal justice Jail data Parole Board system Court dispositions and County Officials sentencing Behavioral Health Risk/Needs Providers Develop a framework of Probation supervision Victims/Advocates policy options that together Community corrections Faith-Based Leaders would increase public safety Prison admissions, and reduce/avert taxpayer Probation Officers population and releases spending Parole Officers Parole decisions and Law Enforcement supervision 2 to 3 months 6 to 9 months 10 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Structures Providing Support and Direction to Justice Reinvestment Project Bipartisan, Inter-branch Coordination High Level Working Group Agency Executive Judicial Legislative Policymakers Stakeholders Directors Other support needed for effective technical assistance: CJ System Stakeholder Leadership Assist in accessing data, review of preliminary data findings, advice for engaging association membership, guidance on statewide issues, and distribution of surveys and assistance with scheduling focus groups 11 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Understand Broader System Trends — Prison Data Alone Won’t Answer Essential Questions Jail Probation or CC Crime Arrests Admissions Discharge Court Probation or CC Probation or CC Dispositions Placements Population CC = Community Corrections Parole Prison Probation or CC Revocations Admissions Revocations Multiple points in the Parole Releases Prison system to improve Population to Parole Population effectiveness, reduce pressure on prisons Parole Prison and jails, and increase Discharge Discharge public safety. 12 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Example of Justice Reinvestment Data Analysis and Stakeholder Engagement in Oklahoma 100+ Five 700,000+ Working Group meetings in-person meetings data records analyzed for 2-3 hours each with stakeholders 100 24 40 15 17 20 Police Chiefs, Victims, Probation Behavioral Members of Judges Staff and Advocates, and Parole Health and the Defense Officers and Officers Treatment Bar Survivors Providers 12 5 12+ Sheriffs Community Hours with and Private District Supervision Attorneys Officers 13 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Detailed, Case-Level Data Sought from Many Sources Data Type Source Status – Sentencing Sentencing In Process Commission Roadblocks that sometimes arise – Prison Department of In Process Corrections Shortage of data staff – Probation Supervision Board of Pardons In Process and Paroles Delays in delivery due to – Parole Decision-Making “data cleaning” – Parole Supervision – Risk Assessment Unavailable data instead collected through – Jail Counties Still scoping samples and surveys – Community Corrections – Problem Solving Courts Agencies unaccustomed to sharing data with – Behavioral Health Data Department of Still scoping outside groups Mental Health – Crime and Arrests Criminal Justice Awaiting Information Center Response 14 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Criminal Justice Trends in Alabama Guiding Principles Justice Reinvestment Case Studies 15 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Criminal Justice Trends in Alabama Guiding Principles Justice Reinvestment Case Studies 16 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Crime Has Decreased Despite Growing State Population State Population and Reported Index Crimes, 2000 – 2012 Reported Population Crime 5,000,000 300,000 Alabama’s resident population increased 8.2% 4.8m from 2000 to 2012. 4,800,000 250,000 2000 pop = 4,452,173 2012 pop = 4,817,528 4,600,000 4.5m 200,000 During the same period, reported crime fell by 5% . 4,400,000 191,141 181,752 150,000 4,200,000 4,000,000 100,000 Source: U.S Census Bureau, Population Division; Crime in Alabama Annual Reports, Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center. 17 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Despite Falling Crime, Alabama Continues to Have Some of the Higher Crime Rates in the Nation Alabama and US Crime Rates, 2012 AL US Alabama’s Ranking Among 4,000 3,769 States for 2012 Crime Rates: 3,337 3,246 Total Crime: 8 th Highest 2,859 3,000 Violent Crime: 14 th Property Crime: 7 th 2,000 1,000 433 387 0 Total Violent Property Violent crime rate nationally fell more than 15% from 2008 to 2012. Alabama’s fell less than 2%. Source: Crime in Alabama Annual Reports, Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center; Crime in the US, Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting, US Dept. of Justice. 18 Council of State Governments Justice Center
Recommend
More recommend
