Criminal Justice Policy Makers Research Articles

Forecasting and Criminal Justice Policy and Practice.

We address the organization of criminal justice forecasting and implications for its use in criminal justice policymaking. We argue that the use of forecasting is relatively widespread in criminal justice agency settings, but it is used primarily to inform decision-making and practice rather than to formulate and test new policy proposals. Using predictive policing and prison population forecasting as our main examples of the range of forecasting methods adopted in criminal justice practice, we describe their uses, how their use is organized, and the implications of the organizational arrangements for the transparent, reviewable, and consensual use of forecasting. We point out that both prison population forecasting and predictive policing have long histories that have led to advances in methodology. Prison population forecasting has generally become embedded in budget decision-making processes that contribute to greater transparency in method and applications. Predictive policing has been less transparent in method and use, partly because the methods are more complicated and rely on larger amounts of data, but it generally has not be used in ways to foster community engagement and build public support. Concerns about the legitimacy of its use persist.

Victim-Survivors' Prioritization of Reasons for Non-Reporting Adult Sexual Assaults to Law Enforcement.

Despite the potential benefits of reporting a sexual assault to the police, few sexual assault victim-survivors choose to do so. Prior research on reasons for non-reporting has lacked American Indian/Alaska Native representation as well as a quantitative prioritization of non-reporting reasons. This study sought to fill those gaps by using quantitative data from 95 participants in an online, self-administered survey of victim-survivors of adult sexual assaults in Alaska. Descriptive, univariate results revealed great variation in the reasons for non-reporting. Further, which reasons were more commonly endorsed changed when measuring victim-survivor prioritization of reasons (primary, secondary, and tertiary) rather than simple endorsement. Lastly, there were few subgroup differences when conducting bivariate analyses using racial/ethnic identity and the act of reporting other adult sexual assaults in Alaska. The results of this study add to existing literature on non-reporting with an emphasis on changing how we measure the reasons behind non-reporting. The results also signal to criminal justice policy makers and practitioners that proactive, comprehensive efforts must be made to regain the faith and trust of current and potential victim-survivors so that they see the criminal justice system as a viable avenue for securing justice in ways that are meaningful to them.

Inspections, reviews, inquiries and recommendations pertaining to youth justice centres in New South Wales between 2015 and 2021

ABSTRACT It is widely recognised that there is a lack of analysis of criminal justice policy-making (and youth justice policy-making specifically) within the wider criminological project. To partially address the gap, this article focuses on one part of the dynamic and complex policy-making environment—reviews, inquiries and findings of oversight bodies between 2015 and 2021 relevant to youth detention in New South Wales (NSW). We estimate that the reports arising from these inquiries and reviews have generated approximately 1040 recommendations (approximately 590 relevant to Youth Justice NSW (YJNSW) broadly and 284 relevant to youth justice centres more specifically). The sheer volume of recommendations, some of which are very broad, raises questions about the ability of an agency, such as YJNSW, to implement them; about which recommendations might be prioritised; and how YJNSW might resolve conflicts between recommendations arising from different and often parallel processes. We suggest that, for the purposes of achieving the best outcomes for young people in custody, there might be greater merit in having fewer inquiries that deal with parts of youth detention and a coordinated and prioritised response to recommendations to address issues of youth detention.

Expendable Lives: Race and Segmented Representation in the Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice in the United States

One of the most enduring debates in the study of the evolution of criminal justice policy in the United States concerns the role of public opinion. Two viewpoints have thus far dominated pertinent scholarship, with one claiming that criminal justice policy has been genuinely responsive to changes in public opinion, and the other suggesting that incumbent administrations have simulated responsiveness to public attitudes toward criminal justice which they strategically molded themselves. Drawing in part on political science literature that has as yet been little used within criminology, this article seeks to advance an alternative viewpoint. We argue that, in the context of American criminal justice policy since the 1970s, political responsiveness to public opinion has been neither genuine nor so much simulated as it has been what political scientists describe as “segmented”—that is, geared toward specific subgroups whose views are privileged for electoral reasons. Our analysis singles out for scrutiny the crucial period between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s and the alignment of criminal justice policymaking during those years with preferences held and promoted by lobby groups with strong financial incentives at the expense of disadvantaged minorities. In so doing, we combine foci and insights that have typically been accorded discrete consideration in prior critical scholarship, which allows us to demonstrate the aggregate effect that different lobbying activities can have on criminal justice, whether directly and by design or indirectly and by default.

Exploring the high murder rate in South Africa

The objects of this research are: first, to explain some of the causes of high murder rates in South Africa. Second, to refute the labelling of South Africa as the murder capital of the world. Third, exploring some alternative ways to violence resulting in deaths.
 The author investigated the following problems: murder done predominately by men, the inefficiency or shortcomings of the police to investigate murder successfully and lack of reports showing a drastic reduction of murders rates, possible due to lenient sanctions given by the courts.
 The main results of the research are:
 First, South Africa has been incorrectly referred to as the murder capital of the world. A label that scares would be visitors away from the country. This misleading labelling turned out to be factually incorrect according to several reports. Second, there are myriads of reasons why the death rates are very high in South Africa namely: varieties and normalization of violence; socio-economic inequalities; high youth unemployment rates; alcohol and drugs; culture of violence; easy access to firearms; lenient prison sentence; membership of gangsters; ineffective police investigation units; Mental illnesses or psychotic disorders and satanic beliefs.
 The area of practical use of the research: is for all citizens, directly or indirectly affected by police and safer communities. Criminal justice students in higher institutions and criminal justice practitioners, government officials, and policymakers.

Urgent issues and prospects in correctional rehabilitation practice and research

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to identify some of the urgent issues currently confronting criminal justice policymakers, researchers and practitioners. To this end a diverse group of researchers and clinicians have collaborated to identify pressing concerns in the field and to make some suggestions about how to proceed in the future. The authors represent individuals with varying combinations of criminal justice research, professional training (e.g. social work, criminal justice, criminology, social work, clinical psychology) and clinical orientation, and experience. The paper is comprised of 13 commentaries and a subsequent discussion based on these reflections. The commentaries are divided into the categories of explanation of criminal behaviour, clinical assessment and correctional intervention, and cover issues ranging from the role of clinical expertise in treatment, problems with risk assessment to the adverse effects of social oppression on minority groups. Following the commentaries, we summarize some of their key themes and briefly discuss a number of major issues likely to confront the field in the next 5–10 years.

Opioid-specific medication-assisted therapy and its impact on criminal justice and overdose outcomes.

The overlap between justice system involvement and drug use is well-documented. Justice-involved people who misuse opioids are at high risk for relapse and criminal recidivism. Criminal justice policymakers consider opioid-specific medication-assisted therapies (MATs) one approach for improving outcomes for this population. More research is needed that explores the impacts of opioid-specific MATs for justice-involved people. This study sought to assess the effects of opioid-specific MAT for reducing the frequency and likelihood of criminal justice and overdose outcomes for current or formerly justice-involved individuals. Records were searched between May 7, 2021 and June 23, 2021. We searched a total of sixteen proprietary and open access databases that included access to gray literature and conference proceedings. The bibliographies of included studies and relevant reviews were also searched. Studies were eligible for inclusion in the review if they: (a) assessed the effects of opioid-specific MATs on individual-level criminal justice or overdose outcomes; included (b) a current or formerly justice-involved sample; and (c) a randomized or strong quasi-experimental design; and c) were published in English between January 1, 1960 and October 31, 2020. We used the standard methodological procedures as expected by The Campbell Collaboration. Twenty studies were included, representing 30,119 participants. The overall risk of bias for the experimental studies ranged from "some" to "high" and for quasi-experimental studies ranged from "moderate" to "serious." As such, findings must be interpreted against the backdrop of less-than-ideal methodological contexts. Of the 20 included studies, 16 included outcomes that were meta-analyzed using mean log odds ratios (which were reported as mean odds ratios). Mean effects were nonsignificant for reincarceration (odds ratio [OR] = 0.93 [0.68, 1.26], SE = .16), rearrest (OR = 1.47 [0.70, 3.07], SE = 0.38), and fatal overdose (OR = 0.82 [0.56, 1.21], SE = 0.20). For nonfatal overdose, the average effect was significant (OR = 0.41 [0.18, 0.91], SE = 0.41, p < 0.05), suggesting that those receiving MAT had nearly 60% reduced odds of a nonfatal overdose. The current review supports some utility for adopting MAT for the treatment of justice-involved people with opioid addiction, however, more studies that employ rigorous methodologies are needed. Researchers should work with agencies to improve adherence to medication regimens, study design, and collect more detailed information on participants, their criminal and substance use histories, onset, and severity. This would help clarify whether treatment and control groups are indeed comparable and provide better insight into the potential reasons for participant dropout, treatment failure, and the occurrence of recidivism or overdose. Outcomes should be assessed in multiple ways, if possible (e.g., self-report and official record), as reliance on official data alone may undercount participants' degree of criminal involvement.

The reconciliation of the development and implementation of police accountability in the United Kingdom

The objects of this research are: first, to explain some of the issues surrounding police accountability in the United Kingdom. Second, to make attempts in reconciling two opposing views as to whom police in the UK are accountable for? Third, to clarify the vagueness and ambiguous definitional concepts of the police constable, constabulary independence, and the use of police discretionary powers.&#x0D; The author investigated the following problems: lack of police proper accountability, vague and ambiguous meaning of constabulary independence constable oath of office, and the use of police discretionary powers.&#x0D; The main results of the research are: first, more clarity is needed as to whom is the British police accountable to? Second, a review of the current oath of office for police constable, the implementation of finding by previous committees set up by government: Lord Scarman, Rt Hon Christopher Patten, and Lord Nolan reports. Third, the monitoring of police officers' use of discretionary powers.&#x0D; The area of practical use of the research: is for all citizens, directly or indirectly affected by police and safer communities. Criminal justice students in higher institutions and criminal justice practitioners, government officials, and policymakers.

The impact of algorithms on legitimacy in sentencing

This paper explores current and future possible uses of algorithms in sentencing and assesses the likely impact of their use on penal legitimacy. The focus is on sentencing in England and Wales, although examples from the United States, where the use of algorithms in sentencing is more extensive, are also considered. An understanding of legitimacy grounded in procedural fairness is used, with a particular focus on two key factors affecting fairness: bias and transparency. It is concluded that the use of algorithms in sentencing increases bias and decreases transparency, adversely affecting the fairness of the sentencing process and weakening penal legitimacy. The paper is intended to contribute to wider discussions on sentencing and the use of algorithms in criminal justice and may therefore appeal to academics in these areas, criminal justice practitioners and policymakers considering further development of algorithmic tools in sentencing.

Examining Arrest and Cigarette Smoking in Emerging Adulthood.

Background:Despite prior studies, transitions in smoking patterns are not fully understood. Getting arrested may alter an individual’s smoking pattern through processes proscribed by the criminological labeling theory. This study examined how arrest during emerging adulthood altered smoking behavior during subsequent years and whether there were differential effects by race/ethnicity and gender.Methods:We analyzed 15 waves of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Multinomial logistic regressions were performed using Stata software version 14.Results:For both genders, arrested black men and women had the most distinct smoking transitions (both increases and decreases) as compared with their non-arrested counterparts. Among men, particularly black males, arrest in early adulthood was associated with the men transitioning to both increased and decreased smoking. Patterns in smoking transitions for women were less clear, suggesting that women’s smoking may be influenced by factors not in the models. Women had a low probability of starting to smoke or increasing smoking if they were never arrested between 18 and 21 years of age.Conclusions:The results for transitioning into increased smoking offer some support for labeling theory processes. Other findings suggest that arrest may lead to some men reducing or quitting smoking. Early adulthood arrest may serve to “shock the system” and contribute to males altering their prior smoking behavior.Implications:Tobacco use over the life course, particularly across different racial and ethnic groups, remains understudied. This study contributes to the literature using a nationally representative sample to examine the effect of getting arrested in emerging adulthood on cigarette use during subsequent years. In conducting the study, investigators combined theories and methodological approaches from 2 complementary disciplines: public health and criminal justice. Because criminal justice policymakers tend to focus on issues like ex-offender unemployment, public health officials can provide guidance regarding the effect of justice system involvement on smoking, particularly given the adverse health outcomes of using cigarettes.

Neither dupes, nor pipers: violent crime, public sentiment and the political origins of mass incarceration in the United States

ABSTRACTOne of the most contentious questions in contemporary penology is why the use of imprisonment started rising rapidly in the United States in the early 1970s. The two dominant perspectives on the subject focus on crime's public salience and how it relates to violent crime and political elites, respectively. The first perspective holds that incumbent political elites promoted tougher criminal justice policies in the name of a public concern about violent crime that they previously aroused themselves, in order ultimately to serve narrow interests. The second perspective argues instead that politicians in office toughened criminal justice policies in response to a legitimate public disquiet about violent crime. Based on an unprecedented comparison of trends in violent crime and public opinion over the period 1960–1980, this article suggests that both perspectives misread how the politics of crime and criminal justice unfolded around the time mass incarceration was taking off. Research on the subject should henceforth shift its focus onto perspectives that do not treat majority public opinion as a key element in criminal justice policy-making.

The media, personal digital criminal legacies and the experience of offenders convicted of occupational fraud and corruption

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of media coverage on offenders convicted of occupational fraud and corruption in the UK. It examines the extent of media coverage and provides insights into the experiences of offenders.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based upon interviews with 17 convicted offenders, and on a content analysis of one national and two regional newspapers in the UK.FindingsThe findings suggest that offenders convicted of occupational crime and corruption are more likely to experience media coverage than previously assumed and that personal digital criminal legacies create long-term labels which lead to economic strains and social fractures that hinder productive reintegration into society.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited by a small sample frame in the UK. Nevertheless, the findings suggest further research is required as they have important implications for privacy and rehabilitation.Practical implicationsIn particular, offenders and their families need support in dealing with their personal digital criminal legacies, accessing their privacy rights and coping with the strains created by online stigmatisation. From a policy perspective, the existing regulatory framework that supports rehabilitation in the UK, especially the increasingly archaic Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, requires close examination and debate to ensure it is fit for the digital era. The findings also suggest that policies, practices and responsibilities of the public sector in employing offenders need to be examined.Originality/valueIt is a rare study of white-collar offenders after their release from prison. The findings are of relevance to criminal justice policy makers, rehabilitation services and academics.

Responding to Harm: The Challenge of Children’s Perspectives

This article draws upon research undertaken in South Wales to understand children’s views concerning what it means to be a ‘victim’ of crime and their experiences, in that context, of engaging with the criminal justice system. Significantly, and moving beyond traditional policy and service provision concerns, child participants argued passionately that not only did adults fail to provide them with appropriate advice and support, but that their understandings of victimhood were inaccurate. Rather, children articulated an almost zemiological understanding of ‘harm’ which was the basis for an alternative way of understanding what it was to be a ‘victim’. Furthermore, children suggested that they were not taken seriously by an adult-led criminal justice system and that the operation of that system did not address their needs. Reflections are offered in this article concerning children’s views, and the profound implications that their alternative discourse pose for criminal justice policymakers and practitioners.

Towards a \u2018smart\u2019 cost\u2013benefit tool: using machine learning to predict the costs of criminal justice policy interventions

BackgroundThe Manning Cost–Benefit Tool (MCBT) was developed to assist criminal justice policymakers, policing organisations and crime prevention practitioners to assess the benefits of different interventions for reducing crime and to select those strategies that represent the greatest economic return on investment.DiscussionA challenge with the MCBT and other cost–benefit tools is that users need to input, manually, a considerable amount of point-in-time data, a process that is time consuming, relies on subjective expert opinion, and introduces the potential for data-input error. In this paper, we present and discuss a conceptual model for a ‘smart’ MCBT that utilises machine learning techniques.SummaryWe argue that the Smart MCBT outlined in this paper will overcome the shortcomings of existing cost–benefit tools. It does this by reintegrating individual cost–benefit analysis (CBA) projects using a database system that securely stores and de-identifies project data, and redeploys it using a range of machine learning and data science techniques. In addition, the question of what works is respecified by the Smart MCBT tool as a data science pipeline, which serves to enhance CBA and reconfigure the policy making process in the paradigm of open data and data analytics.

Explaining Misperceptions of Crime

Promoting public safety is a central mandate of government. But despite decades of dramatic improvements, most Americans believe crime is rising—a mysterious pattern that may pervert the criminal justice policymaking process. What explains this disconnect? We test five plausible explanations: survey mismeasurement, extrapolation from local crime conditions, lack of exposure to facts, partisan cues and the racialization of crime. Cross-referencing over a decade of crime records with geolocated polling data and original survey experiments, we show individuals readily update beliefs when presented with accurate crime statistics, but this effect is attenuated when statistics are embedded in a typical crime news article, and confidence in perceptions is diminished when a copartisan elite undermines official statistics. We conclude Americans misperceive crime because of the frequency and manner of encounters with relevant statistics. Our results suggest widespread misperceptions are likely to persist barring foundational changes in Americans’ information consumption habits, or elite assistance.

Navigating the Political Landscape of Australian Criminal Justice Reform: Senior Policy-makers on Alternatives to Incarceration

Political ideology and populism are often thought to be major impediments to criminal justice reform. Our research has attempted to deconstruct these ideas so that the robustness of the ‘punitive turn’ in criminal justice policy can be better understood. This article reports upon in-depth interviews conducted with five very senior criminal justice policy-makers, each of whom was broadly sympathetic to reforming criminal justice policy to achieve the goal of lower incarceration levels. The interviews reveal that these policy-makers conceived of prison reform primarily in terms of political risk, especially when reform was related to the adoption of prison alternatives and models that focus on ‘decarceration’. Furthermore, policymakers' perceptions of political risk were intricately bound up with concerns about potential public policy and program failure. This research indicates the need to develop political will for reform, alongside the further development of the myriad evaluation and policy development processes required to enable successful reform in the criminal justice space.

A New Quantitative Criminology Manifesto: Evidence Based Criminal Justice Policymaking

A New Quantitative Criminology Manifesto: Evidence Based Criminal Justice Policymaking

The Politics of Racial Disparity Reform: Racial Inequality and Criminal Justice Policymaking in the States

Racial inequalities in criminal justice are pressing problems for policymakers. Prior literature suggests elected officials promulgate punitive, racially disparate criminal justice policies due to partisanship and racial fears, but scholarship has yet to explain how and why elected officials address racial problems in criminal processing. This article introduces the framework of racial disparity reform policymaking. A racial disparity reform is a policy that seeks to reduce distinctions in criminal justice institutions’ treatment of racial groups. Elected officials pursue these policies due to ideological beliefs in civil rights ideals and political interests in appearing to solve social problems. Using an original database of policy enactments, this article first presents the distribution and types of reform measures adopted by elected officials in all 50 states between 1998 and 2011. It then examines social and political explanations for when state legislatures and executives adopt racial disparity reforms. Policy enactment is predicted by worsening problems of racial disproportion in criminal processing, Democratic control of elected branches, and the absence of judicial efforts to improve racial fairness within a state’s criminal justice system. Similar dynamics encourage the development of different measures types within policies. Such ideological and problem-solving explanations for racial disparity reform show a potential for elected officials to forge more racially just criminal justice practices.

A BLEAK OUTLOOK: HIV/AIDS and the South African Police Service

As yet largely unrecognised by South African criminal justice policy makers, HIV/AIDS could significantly impact on the country’s criminal justice system agencies, especially the police. South Africa’s HIV/AIDS epidemic is likely to result in a change in the demand for the quantity and complexity of services required of the South African Police Service. Simultaneously, the capacity of the police to deliver an adequate service will be undermined as an increasing number of police officers succumb to the epidemic.

Broken fixes: A systematic analysis of the effectiveness of modern and postmodern interventions utilized to decrease IPV perpetration among Black males remanded to treatment

Abstract Batterer intervention programs are mostly failing to protect victims of intimate partner violence; yet, there is a dearth of research that examines the treatment intervention as a predictor for program dropout. A systematic review of offenders' attrition and recidivism rates throughout the literature found that current interventions typically mandated by criminal justice policymakers, like the Duluth Model and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, are largely ineffective for perpetrators of all racial/ethnic groups. However, they are particularly problematic for Black males who are disproportionately remanded to treatment and more likely to drop out, which elevates their risk of reoffending at increased lethality. Current interventions account for patriarchy; however, there is a fundamental mismatch, specifically since the interlocking nature of systemic racism, along with its societal effects that include social, political and economic inequality that Black males dually experience are largely ignored. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of strengths-based intervention models, like Goal Setting, to account for their needs. Although limited, available research reflects promising outcomes and may point toward developing more strengths-based interventions. Fixing the batterer system is critical to reducing intimate partner violence, particularly since Black women are murdered by their intimate partner at rates that parallel Black males' program dropout.