In July 2019, the First Step Act went into effect allowing 3,100 inmates to be qualified for release from long federal prison sentences. It was enacted to try a more constructive approach to rehabilitation and justice reform. In the U.S. Sentencing Commission First Step Act of 2018 Resentencing Provisions Retroactivity Data Report, there have been 1,674 […]
First Step Act Continues to Reduce Sentences Read More »
Overcrowding is an issue across the entire world regarding prison populations, especially in the United States. It is starting to affect more people than just the inmates as the over population can cause uneasiness in prisons, resulting in lockdowns. This prevents access to and from the inmates to the outside world. Overcrowding continues to pose
Overcrowding in Jails Affects More than Just the Inmates Read More »
The First Step Act, that was signed into place in 2019, continues to provide second chances for former inmates. The First Step Act was a legislation promoting criminal justice reform by re-examining the cases and trials of inmates. It allowed a number of individuals early access to parole, shortening their sentences. The article provides alarming data
First Step Act Continues to Provide Former Inmates Second Chances Read More »
The cost of incarceration is skyrocketing in many states. A large portion of prison populations are individuals who received technical violations. A technical violation occurs when a person under community supervision fails to comply with their probation or parole terms. This could be anything from missing a check-in, interview, appointments, meetings with their supervisors, failing
Reducing Technical Violations to Reduce Prison Populations Read More »
The United States has some of the highest incarceration and community supervision rates in the world. With 2020 coming to a close, justice reform and prison reform have been top priority for states, trying and reduce the number of those who come into contact with the justice system. As law makers and reformers realize the drastic
De-incarceration: Utilizing Pre-trial, Diversion and Community Supervision Programs Read More »
Almost every pretrial, probation and/or parole supervisor are overwhelmed with overloaded caseloads, some of which are assigned upwards of 150-200 cases. Administrative tasks, commuting, and check-ins take up straining amounts of time and often leads to unattended caseloads of low-risk and high-risk individuals. New technology is being developed to help with these inefficiencies and allowing supervisors
Bristol Herald Courier recently highlighted how Sullivan County’s pretrial release program looks promising. Pretrial release is becoming a new norm as jails shift from having people just sitting in jail to being on house arrest or electronic supervision. So far, Sullivan County has had success in their pretrial release program as individuals have been compliant and
A Promising Pretrial Release Program Read More »
A local news station in Bannock County, Idaho published an article on how one problem, COVID-19, has solved another problem, overcrowding, in their county jail. Sheriff Lorin Nielson recounts how Bannock County Jail is much too small for the number of people being kept there. The jail has seen overcrowding for six or seven years
New Bail Policy Drastically Reduces Prison Overcrowding in Bannock County Read More »
The end of June marked a four-year project completion for Chatham County Officials as the Gateway Crisis Center for those suffering from mental health issues opened. Fox 28 Media published an article about the opening of the new facility, which includes a 24-hour walk-in facility for people in crisis, says Gateway Community Service Board CEO
Reducing Jail Overcrowding by Opening New Mental Health Facility Read More »
Recently, a coalition of criminal justice reform groups have come out with a list of recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Slowly, inmates and prison employees are beginning to test positive for the fast spreading coronavirus. Because of this the reform groups have created a plan referred to as “SAFER”. They are fighting to suspend jail time for technical violations
Initiatives to Take to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreak at Correctional Facilities Read More »