Criminal Justice Research Clearinghouse

The latest justice reform research

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We've added 21 new reports to the research clearinghouse:

The State of Justice Reform 2017 by Vera Institute of Justice, March, 2018
This report identifies the major trends & developments in the justice system during 2017, and looks ahead to how this new policy landscape will inform criminal justice reform work in 2018. See similar reports about:
General
Louisiana's 2017 Criminal Justice Reforms: The most incarcerated state changes course by The Pew Charitable Trusts, March, 2018
On June 15, 2017, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (D) signed the most comprehensive justice reform package in state history, projected to reduce prison & community supervision populations, and save taxpayers $262 million dollars over a 10 year period. See similar reports about:
General
Plea Bargaining: From Patent Unfairness to Transparent Justice by Mirko Bagaric, Julie N. Clarke, and William Rininger, March, 2018
This article proposes reforms to the plea bargaining process (by shifting discretion and power from prosecutors into the hands of - impartial - sentencing judges) that will demonstrably and profoundly reshape the framework for plea negotiations. See similar reports about:
Sentencing Policy and Practices
Recidivism Reconsidered: Preserving the Community Justice Mission of Community Corrections by Harvard Kennedy School, March, 2018
This report argues that when recidivism is used as the sole measure of effectiveness, it misleads policymakers & the public, encourages inappropriate comparisons of dissimilar populations, & focuses policy on negative rather than positive outcomes. See similar reports about:
Recidivism and Reentry Crime and Crime Rates
The Juvenile Record Myth by Joy Radice, March, 2018
This report illuminates the variety of ways states treat juvenile records revealing that state confidentiality, sealing, and expungement provisions often provide far less protection than those terms suggest. See similar reports about:
Youth
The Detention and Forced Medical Treatment of Pregnant Women: A Human Rights Perspective by American Constitution Society, March, 2018
This report argues that laws authorizing the detention and forced medical treatment of pregnant women suspected of drug or alcohol abuse violate human rights standards and are a mistaken legal response to address individual and public health issues. See similar reports about:
Women Drug Policy Families Health impact
Youth Transfer: The Importance of Individualized Factor Review by Campaign for Youth Justice, March, 2018
This brief discusses the importance of weighing individual factors when judges and prosecutors consider the transfer of youth to the adult system, as well as recent state-level reforms addressing youth transfer. See similar reports about:
Youth
Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force: Report and Recommendations by Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force, March, 2018
Money bail should not be used to simply detain defendants. Rather than relying on bond schedules, courts should assess each defendant's risk of non-appearance and danger to the community using a uniform risk assessment tool. See similar reports about:
Pretrial Detention Jails Poverty and wealth Sentencing Policy and Practices
Presumed Innocent for a Price: The Impact of Cash Bail Across Eight New York Counties by New York Civil Liberties Union, March, 2018
This report shows that over a five year period, tens of thousands of New Yorkers were jailed without having had their day in court simply because they could not pay bail. See similar reports about:
Pretrial Detention Jails Poverty and wealth Sentencing Policy and Practices
Don't Stop Now: California leads the nation in using public higher education to address mass incarceration. Will we continue? by Corrections to College California, March, 2018
"This publication highlights California's successful efforts to build public higher education access for thousands of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students, both in custody and on college campuses throughout the state." See similar reports about:
Education
The Scale of Misdemeanor Justice by Megan Stevenson & Sandra Mayson, March, 2018
There are 13.2 million misdemeanor cases filed in the United States each year, but contrary to conventional wisdom, this number is not rising. There are, however, profound racial disparities in the misdemeanor arrest rate for most offense types. See similar reports about:
Crime and Crime Rates Race and ethnicity
Keeping Kids and Parents Together: A Healthier Approach to Sentencing in Louisiana by Human Impact Partners, March, 2018
"In this report, we evaluate the health and equity impacts of Primary Caretaker legislation in the state of Louisiana. If passed, this legislation would expand the ability to set community-based sentences for parents." See similar reports about:
Sentencing Policy and Practices Families Health impact
A Pound of Flesh: The Criminalization of Private Debt by American Civil Liberties Union, February, 2018
"Arrests stemming from private debt are devastating communities across the country, and amount to a silent financial crisis that, due to longstanding racial & economic inequalities, is disproportionately affecting people of color & low-income communities." See similar reports about:
Poverty and wealth Economics of Incarceration
"Set up to Fail": The Impact of Offender-Funded Private Probation on the Poor by Human Rights Watch, February, 2018
"This report examines the use and impact of privatized probation services for misdemeanor offenses in four US states, and provides recommendations to protect against the abuses of criminal justice debt." See similar reports about:
Probation and parole Economics of Incarceration Poverty and wealth Privatization Sentencing Policy and Practices
Advancing Bail Reform in Maryland: Progress and Possibilities by Baltimore City and Prince George's County Branches of the NAACP, February, 2018
"This report argues that Maryland policymakers should continue to strengthening the alternatives to bail and pretrial detention." See similar reports about:
Pretrial Detention
An Analysis of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Case Dispositions and Sentencing Outcomes for Criminal Cases Presented to and Processed by the Office of the San Francisco District Attorney by John MacDonald & Steven Raphael, December, 2017
This study finds substantial racial & ethnic disparities in criminal justice outcomes that disfavor Black people in particular. These disparities are primarily due to case characteristics related to arrest charges, pre-trial detention, & criminal history. See similar reports about:
Race and ethnicity
"She Doesn't Deserve to be Treated Like This": Prisons as Sites of Reproductive Injustice by Rachel Roth, The Feminist Press, 2017 (updated), January, 2017
"This essay explores prisons as sites of reproductive injustice by focusing on barriers to abortion and safe childbirth." See similar reports about:
Women Conditions of Confinement Families
Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: A Guide for Policy Reform by Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School, September, 2016
"By disproportionately burdening poor people with financial sanctions, and by jailing people who lack the means to pay, many jurisdictions have created a two-tiered system of criminal justice." See similar reports about:
Poverty and wealth Economics of Incarceration
Divided Justice: Trends in Black and White Jail Incarceration, 1990-2013 by Vera Institute of Justice, 2015
This report looks at incarceration trends from 1990 to 2013, finding that although significant racial disparities still exist between black & white jail incarceration rates, rates for black people are declining while rates for white people are rising. See similar reports about:
Incarceration Rates Growth Causes Jails Race and ethnicity
Parents as Partners: Family Connection and Youth Incarceration by Children and Family Justice Center, 2015
This report shows that family and community-based responses to youth offending result in better public safety outcomes than more punitive measures such as incarceration. See similar reports about:
Youth Sentencing Policy and Practices
Can We Wait 75 Years to Cut the Prison Population in Half? by The Sentencing Project, 2015
"While most states have downsized their prison populations in recent years, the pace of decarceration is insufficient to undo nearly four decades of unrelenting growth." See similar reports about:
Incarceration Rates Growth Causes

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Looking deeper: What to read after Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie

For a more detailed view of certain segments of our latest Whole Pie, don't miss our other recent reports: Youth Confinement and The Gender Divide. We show where children and teens are locked up and why, break down women's state prison growth, and suggest ways to reduce our use of incarceration by addressing the needs of women and youth.

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Prison Policy Initiative
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