Latest Reports from the Justice Policy Center

The traditional approach to incarceration is to keep inmates locked up—away from society—to keep us safe. With little treatment and transition planning, most individuals are released with the same problems that got them locked up in the first place. In the past decade, we have realized that almost everyone who is incarcerated will eventually return home; this is especially true of the jail population. The big question: how do we incarcerate and release individuals in a way that makes them less likely to reoffend and more likely to work, support their families, pay taxes, and be productive members of society?

In Holding Police Accountable, twelve of today’s leading scholars on police work examine seminal research on the use of force and how it can inform today’s research. The volume celebrates the late James J. Fyfe, the preeminent scholar on police use of force. In 1978 Fyfe found that administrative controls—training, guidelines, and regulation—reduced deadly shootings by officers without adversely affecting law enforcement or crime rates. The finding not only had profound impact on firearms policy, but compelled police departments to cooperate with independent researchers. Here, the scholars pick up the torch to work toward effective yet fair policing that will better protect all Americans.

The application of radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology to prevent inmate misconduct in a women's prison in Cleveland, Ohio was evaluated. An interrupted time series design was employed to analyze administrative data. Interviews were conducted with 89 inmates and 21 correctional and investigative staff. A process evaluation found that the advanced applications of the RFID system theorized to prevent inmate misconduct were not initiated. The resulting study evaluates RFID when employed at its most basic level as a perimeter control device and aid in investigations and finds that rates of inmate misconduct did not change significantly over the evaluation period.

This report synthesizes the Education Reentry Roundtable. It surveys the current landscape of correctional education, discussing both the educational needs of people involved in the criminal justice system and the programs being provided to meet those needs; reviews research on the effectiveness of correctional education and guiding principles for effective programming; discusses the issues involved in providing education in correctional settings and identifies some potential responses to these challenges. The report closes by looking to the future and highlighting key issues and new directions in research, policy, and practice. More information about the Reentry Roundtables can be found at http://www.urban.org/projects/reentry-roundtable/index.cfm.

Testimony delivered to the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia, hearing on "The Local Role of the United States Parole Commission (USPC): Increasing Public Safety, Reducing Recidivism, and Using Alternatives to Re-incarceration in the District of Columbia." The testimony summarizes work by UI synthesizing extant research and expert consensus regarding what constitutes effective parole supervision to reduce recidivism. Changes currently underway in the parole field and factors to consider in implementing the practices discussed are also presented.

Nancy La Vigne, an expert on crime prevention and prisoner reentry and the founding director of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety program, will become the director of the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center on October 1.

Increasing educational proficiency has shown promise as one strategy for assisting inmates in finding gainful employment after release and ending their involvement with the criminal justice system. This report examines the effect of prison-based postsecondary education (PSE) on offenders both while incarcerated and after release. In three states, prisoners who participated in PSE were less likely to recidivate during the first year after release.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita led to a myriad of legal needs in the Gulf Coast area at a time when the region's legal infrastructure was weakened. Equal Justice Works implemented the Katrina Legal Initiative, an innovative legal aid disaster relief program to assist the affected communities. This report details the implementation of this program; describes the program goals, activities, and impacts; analyzes whether the program met the stated goals; and offers recommendations for comparable programs in the future. Lessons learned from the Katrina Legal Initiative can help to inform future disaster relief efforts on the part of the legal community.

Of the 61,000 men released from Texas prisons, roughly 13,000 call Houston their home. These men face challenges across a wide array of skill deficits and needs. In an effort to understand the factors contributing to successful reentry and inform policies to ensure a safer return for both prisoners and the communities in which they reside, the Urban Institute conducted a study of 210 men exiting Texas prisons and returning to the Houston area. This report presents findings from three waves of interviews with these men, conducted shortly before and at two points after their release.

In Houston, Texas, returning prisoners face many challenges, from securing housing and employment to rebuilding relationships with their families and support networks, while at the same time attempting to avoid old pathways to criminal behavior and substance abuse. The impact of prisoner reentry, however, extends far beyond these individuals and their families and friends. The communities to which former prisoners return and the local government and social service networks that serve these communities have a significant stake in the successful reintegration of returning prisoners. This research brief explores prisoner reentry from the perspective of Houston stakeholders and community members.