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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 1:09 am
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Results for inmate population
2 results foundAuthor: Fishman, Nancy Title: Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Criminal Justice Reform Task Force: Report and recommendations Summary: For years, Oklahoma County has been grappling with an overcrowded and run-down jail. With discussions abounding about whether to replace it with a larger facility, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce convened a task force to examine the county’s local justice system and needs. Chaired by Clayton Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the task force included business leaders, criminal justice stakeholders, the judiciary, county and city officials, state agencies, and others. It also brought in Vera to help analyze why the jail was overcrowded, how it was used, and whether that use served the county’s public safety needs effectively. This report presents Vera’s recommendations to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Criminal Justice Task Force for how the county can safely reduce its jail population. While data collection practices limited some of the analysis, key findings and associated recommendations are reported. Summary Jails in the United States have experienced dramatic growth over the past 30 years. Between 1983 and 2013, annual jail admissions nearly doubled, from 6 million to 11.7 million. Oklahoma County has followed these national trends, with the county jail population increasing five-fold since 1983— from 495 to 2,581 people. The county opened a new, larger jail facility in 1991. Since then, conditions and overcrowding at the jail have reached crisis proportions. Originally designed to house 1,200 people, it now houses more than twice that many. Partnering for change With concerns about the jail mounting, and new discussions starting about whether to replace it—at significant cost to the county—the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce convened Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Criminal Justice Task Force ("the Task Force"). The Task Force brought in the Vera Institute of Justice in February 2016 to help analyze why the jail was overcrowded, how it was used, and whether that use served the county’s public safety needs effectively. Vera presented its findings to the Task Force, and provided recommendations and guidance for how the county can safely reduce its jail population. While data collection practices limited some of the analysis, key findings and associated recommendations are reported below. Jail overview > The jail is severely overcrowded and is running at double capacity. The average daily population was 2,581 people even though the facility was originally built for 1,200. Second to municipal charges, the most common reason for bookings were non-criminal behavior—such as temporary commitment to jail for a non-criminal violation and failure to appear in court. > The most common underlying felony, misdemeanor, and municipal charges of those detained in the jail were alcohol- and drug-related. Of the 10 most common crimes, the majority were nonviolent. > Black people were over-represented—while there were almost equal numbers of black and white people in the jail, white people account for 58 percent of the county population and black people make up only 15 percent of the county population. > Oklahoma County’s rate of female incarceration was high compared to the national average for a county of its size. Twenty-seven percent of people who entered jail last year were women. Key findings and recommendations > The independent agencies and decision-makers in Oklahoma City and County who make up the local justice system do not coordinate or collaborate, and do not share an understanding of how the jail should be used. Moreover, the criminal justice agencies have not been collecting, analyzing, or sharing the data that would enable them to understand who is in the jail and why, or to make informed, data-driven decisions. Vera proposes increased governance and oversight of the local justice system to eliminate these problems and improve data collection practices. This includes the creation of a permanent, staffed policy advisory body that can spearhead and sustain reforms. > One-quarter of all jail admissions were for the lowest-level offenses: municipal and traffic violations such as public drunkenness and not having a driver’s license at the time of a traffic stop. Vera recommends the county keep as many of these people out of jail as possible, through strategies like expanding the use of citations rather than arrest and booking. Admissions on low-level charges account for much of the volume in the booking area of the jail, and contribute to overcrowding and delays. > Ability to pay bail is the chief determining factor in who stays in jail and who is released pending the resolution of their cases. Vera estimated that 80 percent of people in the Oklahoma County jail were being held pretrial. Vera recommends the county create an effective, evidence-based process to decide who stays in jail while their case proceeds and who goes home. Improving the existing processes for non-financial release for appropriate defendants is the first step, but ultimately the county system should include national best practices like the use of a validated risk assessment tool, individualized decision-making by a judge that takes into account one’s ability to pay, and a robust range of pretrial supervision options. > Almost half of people who entered the jail in 2015 were released within three days. However, for those not released within three days, the average length of stay was 41 days. In a one-day snapshot of the jail population on June 1, 2015, one-third of incarcerated people had been there for six months or longer. Vera recommends the county improve processes that move cases through the court system, to alleviate delays and systemic inefficiencies that keep people in jail longer than they need to be. > Of the almost 30,000 people who entered the county jail in 2015, many suffer from addiction, mental illness, or both. Vera recommends the county expand mental health and substance use treatment diversion options for these people, and focus resources on those who are repeatedly booked into the jail for low-level offenses. Recommendations in this area include developing preand post-booking diversion strategies and speeding and broadening access to existing drug and mental health specialty courts. > In addition to significant problems caused by cash bail, fines, fees, and costs are levied on individuals at virtually every point in the criminal justice system. Those without the ability to pay these fees often are brought back to jail for their failure to pay criminal justice debt. Vera recommends the county implement strategies that will keep people from entering an endless cycle of debt and re-incarceration, which not only harms individuals and their families but also imposes recurring costs on both the county and Oklahoma City, without improving public safety. Details: New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2016. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 23, 2016 at: https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/oklahoma-city-chamber-criminal-justice-task-force-report/legacy_downloads/OK-chamber-final-report.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://storage.googleapis.com/vera-web-assets/downloads/Publications/oklahoma-city-chamber-criminal-justice-task-force-report/legacy_downloads/OK-chamber-final-report.pdf Shelf Number: 14808 Keywords: Criminal Justice ReformCriminal Justice SystemsInmate PopulationJails |
Author: Nevada Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice Title: Nevada Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice - Justice Reinvestment Initiative. Final report Summary: Over the past decade Nevada's prison population has grown significantly, resulting in higher spending on prisons and fewer resources available for recidivism reduction measures. Since 2009, Nevada's prison population has grown by seven percent, and the state's female prison population has grown at four times the pace of the overall prison population. The state currently has an imprisonment rate that is 15 percent higher than the national average. Over the same period Nevada's crime rate has fluctuated, with violent crime climbing from a 10-year low in 2011 to 2015 before experiencing a major drop in 2017. The state has the third highest murder rate and the third highest robbery rate in the nation. While many states across the nation have seen significant declines in both crime rates and prison populations, Nevada has not. Moreover, the growing population of people with behavioral health problems continues to challenge the system. Nearly 30 percent of the state's inmate population require treatment or medication for a mental health need. Growing prison costs have burdened taxpayers while gaps remain in treatment and interventions that reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and address critical behavioral health challenges. Nevada is spending over $347 million on corrections in fiscal year 2019, which has crowded out the state's ability to fund treatment and services. The prison population is projected to continue to grow, and by 2028, will increase by 1,197 beds. Fifteen percent of this overall growth will be driven by an increase in the female prison population, which is projected to grow by 14 percent over the next 10 years. The projected prison population growth is estimated to cost the state an additional $770 million in capital expenditures to build or lease new prisons and added operating costs over 10 years. In May 2018, state leaders from all three branches of government joined to request technical assistance through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). As part of the JRI effort, state leaders charged the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice (ACAJ) with conducting a review of the state's criminal justice system and "us[ing] criminological research and [Nevada's] own criminal justice data to inform and motivate the development of comprehensive crime- and recidivism-reduction strategies, while shifting resources toward more cost-effective public safety strategies." Beginning in July 2018 and extending through the end of the calendar year, the ACAJ analyzed the state's sentencing, corrections, and community supervision data, and reviewed the latest research on reducing recidivism and improving public safety. The ACAJ found that, in Nevada: - Sixty-six percent of people admitted to prison in 2017 were sentenced for nonviolent crimes and four out of 10 offenders had no prior felony convictions. - Thirty-nine percent of prison admissions were the result of revocations of individuals on probation and parole supervision. Analysis of violation reports revealed that 34 percent of these violators were returned to prison for technical violations of supervision, meaning they failed to comply with a condition of supervision such as failing a drug test or not going to treatment. - The amount of time individuals spend incarcerated has increased 20 percent since 2008, and recidivism rates have increased for nearly all offense types. - The number of women admitted to prison increased 39 percent between 2008 and 2017 and the female imprisonment rate per 100,000 is now 43 percent higher than the national average. - The number of people admitted to prison with an identified mental health need has increased 35 percent over the last decade and the number of women entering prison with a mental health need has grown by 47 percent. Based on this data analysis and the directive from state leadership, the ACAJ developed a comprehensive package of 25 policy recommendations supported by a majority of ACAJ members. The recommendations are specifically designed to improve public safety by holding offenders accountable, reducing recidivism, and increasing the resources available to combat the state's behavioral health crisis. These policies, if signed into law, would avert 89 percent of the projected prison population growth, and ultimately reduce the projected 2028 prison population by more than 1,000 beds, averting $640 million in additional prison costs over the next 10 years. The money that would have been spent on new prison beds can be redirected to effective policies and practices that reduce recidivism and increase public safety including interventions to address a growing population with behavioral health needs. Details: Carson City: The Author, 2019. 41p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 14, 2019 at: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Document/13671 Year: 2019 Country: United States URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/InterimCommittee/REL/Document/13671 Shelf Number: 154594 Keywords: Costs of CorrectionsInmate PopulationJustice ReinvestmentPrison ReformPrisonersPrisons |