Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) has released what it calls the “first-ever national poll on prison oversight.” Survey results show that nearly three-quarters of Americans support reforming the nation’s criminal justice system and 82% of the public agree that states and the federal government should have a system of independent oversight for their prisons.
Reports, testimony & sign-on Letters
This contains posts about reports, testimony and sign-on letters by District advocacy groups and other entities related to District criminal legal system issues.
New Report Debunks Widespread Myth of Youth-Led Crime Wave
A new analysis from The Sentencing Project debunks the widespread narrative that youth crime exploded during the pandemic. The report finds scarce evidence of a new youth-led crime wave. Rather, most of the data suggests that rates of violence among people under 18 have been flat or declining. The share of crimes in the U.S. …
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Council for Court Excellence Publishes D.C. Justice Systems Overview
The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) has published a new report offering a look into the significant challenges and innovations in the District ’s adult and youth criminal legal systems during 2021. Titled D.C.’s Justice Systems Overview 2021, the report provides updates on various challenges and developments in D.C.’s criminal legal system, as well as …
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D.C. scores high in Police Data Transparency Index
The Vera Institute of Justice recently published a Police Data Transparency Index to see how locations across the United States are performing in their release of data and how much public access to the data that is available. According to Vera, their analysis of police transparency reflected in the index is “rigorous and informed by …
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A New Toolkit for Equitable Alternatives to Police Response
The Vera Institute of Justice took a look at what an antiracist and equitable community crisis response program might look like. Researchers from Vera interviewed national subject matter experts and local program stakeholders, including people with direct experience in establishing and managing crisis response operations.
U.S. Justice Department eyes changes to its risk assessment tool
As reported by NPR, the Justice Department (DOJ) is looking to reduce racial disparities in a tool it uses to assess a prisoner’s risk of a return to crime, after scholars and justice advocates pressed for change.
New report endorses ‘Second Look’ process for people serving lengthy sentences
A report recently released by Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) describes the need for second chances for people serving extreme sentences.
Prison Policy Initiative Report: Mass Incarceration in 2022
Prison Policy Initiative has released a new report titled Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2022. The report seeks to better understand mass incarceration by piecing together the data about this country’s disparate systems of confinement. It provides a detailed look at where and why people are locked up in the U.S., and dispels some modern …
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New Report: Recommendations for improving reentry following long prison terms
The Justice Policy Institute has issued a report titled: Voices for Reform in DC: Recommendations for improving reentry following long prison terms. Since passage by the DC Council of the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), under which 65 people have been released to date, the report points out that providing reentry support for the IRAA …
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Redesigning Risk and Need Assessment in Corrections
The National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the US Dept. of Justice, has published an article titled Redesigning Risk and Need Assessment in Corrections. The article introduces a report released by the agency titled Guidelines for Post-Sentencing Risk Assessment. The agency said it undertook to produced these guidelines because: “… the kind of …
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