Insights & Information

A new study by the Vera Institute of Justice and Pew Center on the States examines the relationship between prison populations and corrections and community corrections spending. The authors find that despite policies aimed at reducing the number of people incarcerated and shifting public opinion on crime and punishment, there is no relationship between the number of people incarcerated and the amount that a state may spend on corrections or community corrections. In interviews, policymakers and corrections administrators proposed that the lack of success of policy decisions, the continuing expense of the increasing population in prisons, labor unions, and public sentiment have contributed to the finding. To access the full report and a fact sheet, click here.

With the 2012 election only two months away, the issue of voting rights has gained increasing public attention. A recent report by The Sentencing Project highlights the disparities between states regarding levels of felon disenfranchisement. Authors Christopher Uggen, Sarah Shannon, and Jeff Manza note that over the past 35 years, the number of disenfranchised people has risen from 1.17 to 5.85 million. Due to post-sentence disenfranchisement laws, 2.6 million of the total disenfranchised population have completed their sentences but still cannot vote. The African-American population is affected disproportionately by disenfranchisement laws, as 1 in 13 African Americans of voting age across the nation are prohibited from voting. Click here to read the full report.

The Sentencing Project has released a new report, Too Good to Be True: Private Prisons in America, which details the history of private prisons in America, documents the increase in their use, and examines their purported benefits. Thirty states and the federal government had some level of prison privatization in 2010 (Illinois is not among them). The amount of privately held state prisoners increased by 40 percent between 1999 and 2010, while the number of federal inmates held privately increased by 784 percent. In contrast, the total prison population experienced a 17 percent increase during this period. The report includes a comprehensive chart on state and federal privatization levels.

According to an article in the January 2012 issue of the journal Pediatrics, almost one-third of America’s youth are arrested or taken into custody for criminal activities, resulting in a destructive and unhealthy start in life. In the study, “Cumulative Prevalence of Arrest From Ages 8 to 23 in a National Sample,” researchers estimated that by age 23, between 25.3 and 41.4 percent of youth have been arrested at least once for a non-traffic offense. The greatest increase in the risk of arrest happens during late adolescence; by 18 years of age, the arrest rate is between 15.9 percent and 26.8 percent. Early risk factors that can lead to such delinquency include poor academic performance, discord or abuse in the home, hyperactive behavior and poor concentration or language development. Because all of these factors can be identified by pediatricians, study authors agree that early intervention by family members and pediatricians can direct at-risk children to treatment programs or help them steer away from violent and unsafe behavior. To read more, click here, here, or here.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness recently released a new report: State Mental Health Cuts: The Continuing Crisis, updating a report they issued earlier this year. Authors report that states have cut more than $1.6 billion in general funds from their state mental health agency budgets for mental health services since FY2009, leading in service reductions to vulnerable people with serious mental illnesses. To access the report, click here.

Passage of the federal Fair Sentencing Act in August 2010 reduced the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity for crack cocaine offenses and eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine, reforming a law that caused racial disparity. The reform is part of a larger movement to reconsider long mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses that pervade sentencing policy in the U.S. A new report by Kara Gotsch, director of advocacy at The Sentencing Project, outlines efforts culminating with the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act and points to the unfinished sentencing reform agenda. The report highlights the importance of the reform internationally, given the U.S. role of prominence in reducing substance abuse. To read the report, click here.

Recently, the Council of State Governments Justice Center reported that the House and Senate conference committee provided $63 million for the Second Chance Act in the “minibus” appropriations report, which includes Fiscal Year 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) spending. This appropriations bill resolves differences between the House, which allotted $70 million, and the Senate, which provided no funding. The conference report consolidates appropriations bill for several agencies, and is expected to go to the full House and Senate for consideration this week. For more info, click here. 

The New York Times reports that the United States Sentencing Commission has released a comprehensive report finding that federal mandatory minimum sentences are often excessively severe, unwarranted, and inconsistently applied, especially for individuals convicted of drug trafficking (over 75 percent) and individuals with prior convictions. Mandatory minimums have nearly tripled the number of federal prisoners in the past 20 years to 208,000 in 2009, and putting federal prisons 37 percent over capacity. The report also highlights racial disparities in sentencing. In some cases, mandatory minimums can be reduced for incarcerated individuals if the crime did not involve violence or a gun, but most African-American individuals could not meet these or other qualifications (only 39 percent qualified for a reduction, compared to 64 percent of whites). The report recommends revisiting policy on mandatory minimum sentences to bolster confidence in the federal criminal justice system. To read a New York Times editorial about this report, click here. To read the full report, click here.

Green For All recently released a report, "Green Strategies to Re-Entry," detailing how formerly incarcerated individuals can find employment in the green industry. Twenty eight percent of Americans have a criminal record of some kind, significantly increasing their likelihood of unemployment and reducing their wages by 11 percent. Forty percent of released inmates return to prison within three years, but vocational training during incarceration and post-release significantly reduces these recidivism rates. Additionally, transitional jobs programs can reduce that rate by 40 percent. The report outlines opportunities and potential of jobs in high demand green sectors, best practices of re-entry programs, and public policies that can promote fair opportunities for people with criminal histories in the emerging green economy. To read more, click here.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and experts in the reentry field have advocated for states to evaluate their occupational screening laws to reduce barriers to employment of people with criminal records. NELP, National H.I.R.E. Network, and The Sentencing Project will co-host a webinar to help individuals across the country learn about the latest developments in state legislation relating to criminal records and employment. In addition to a number of policy reforms, the webinar will focus on problematic state legislation that will likely reemerge in the 2012 state legislative session.
 
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
1:00PM – 2:00PM
To register, click here.