This brief analyzes data from 145 men released from Illinois prisons (2002-2003) and tracked for three years afterwards through personal interviews and reincarceration records, as part of the study Returning Home: Understanding the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry. Three years after release, 59 percent were reincarcerated-up from 34 percent at 16 months out. Those successful at avoiding reincarceration were older first-time releases with no illegal income or family violence prior to prison, and those who found employment and housing after release, reintegrated into new, less disorganized neighborhoods, avoided antisocial peers, and had a physical/mental health condition (which may have restricted activity outside the home).

The primary goal of this research is to estimate the costs and benefits of serving misdemeanor DUI offenders in the Anchorage Wellness Court (AWC), a specialized court employing principles of therapeutic jurisprudence. The Urban Institute conducted an impact and a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to estimate the effectiveness of the AWC. The study focused on the impact of the program on reducing the prevalence and incidence of new criminal justice system contact. Costs were collected to estimate the opportunity cost of the AWC. Recidivism variables were monetized to estimate the benefits from crime reductions. Outcomes were observed at 24, 30, 36, and 48 months.

Using data from the Urban Institute's Returning Home study, this brief examines post release supervision experiences in Illinois, Ohio, and Texas. The authors focus on addressing three questions: What are the parole experiences of those being released from prison? How do experiences on supervision affect post release outcomes? Does supervision benefit some groups more than others? Overall, parolees reported positive relationships with their parole officers but received relatively little tangible assistance finding a job or drug treatment program. Parole supervision was associated with increased employment and reduced substance use among former prisoners, but had almost no impact on self-reported crime or rearrest.

This guide provides guidance to merchants and their law enforcement partners in developing strategies to prevent public disorder problems, such as public intoxication, vandalism, and loitering. The guide walks readers through the process of understanding the root causes of public disorders, identifying potential strategies, and measuring the impact of those strategies. While public disorder problems vary based on local context, promising strategies to address them include: broadcasting classical music; improving lighting in parking facilities and building exteriors; securing perimeters to limit pedestrian access; and establishing policies and sanctions regarding acceptable public behavior.

This guide is tailored toward private businesses interested in new approaches to the prevention of retail burglary. Designed to encourage partnerships between businesses and local law enforcement, the guide walks readers through the process of understanding retail burglary, collecting crime data, identifying potential strategies, and measuring the impact of those strategies. Several promising strategies for preventing retail burglary are highlighted, including: removing obstructions from windows to provide a clear line of sight into stores from the street and parking lot; improving lighting around doorways and other entry points; launching a public awareness campaign to inform would-be burglars of legal repercussions of burglarizing; and limiting inventory on-hand.

This guide is designed to equip local merchants and retailers with problem solving strategies aimed at reducing panhandling in and around their properties. Focusing heavily on the value of partnerships with law enforcement, the guide walks readers through the process of understanding their panhandling problem; collecting crime data; identifying potential strategies; and measuring the impact of those strategies. Several promising strategies to reduce panhandling are described, including: providing informational brochures about available social services to panhandlers; requiring all vendors to have permits; initiating civilian patrols to monitor and discourage activity; and prohibiting the sale of single servings of alcohol through a city ordinance.

This guide is designed to help merchants and retailers partner with local law enforcement to assess their auto theft, car break-in, and vehicle vandalism problems and to develop strategies to address them. The guide walks readers through the process of understanding their car crime problem; collecting crime data; identifying potential strategies; and measuring the impact of those strategies. While each jurisdiction's problems will be different, effective strategies may include: introducing bike patrols; improving lighting; restricting pedestrian traffic; and requiring tickets to both enter and exit parking facilities.

The Urban Institute partnered with local research organizations in three sites to learn more about children of incarcerated parents through the merging and analysis of local and state level criminal justice and human services data. The purpose of the project was to better understand the experiences and needs of children of incarcerated parents in each locality and to explore the involvement of affected families with the criminal justice, child welfare, and social welfare systems. This report presents findings from the sites and lessons learned regarding the merging and analysis of administrative data on this population.

The study compared traditional crime solving to biological evidence techniques in hundreds of cases where biological evidence was available. When conventional investigative techniques were used, a suspect was identified 12 percent of the time, compared to 31 percent of the cases using DNA evidence. In eight percent of cases built on traditional evidence alone a suspect was arrested, compared to the 16 percent arrest rate in DNA cases. The average added cost for processing a single case with DNA evidence was about $1,397. Each additional arrest-an arrest that would not have occurred without DNA processing-cost $14,169.

Overcrowded jails and more spending for incarceration aren't predestined. In a Philadelphia Daily News commentary, two Urban Institute researchers explain how programs to help repeat offenders return successfully to society can cut crime and save money.