Further Analysis of Recent Criminal Justice System Data Presented to the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission May 28, 2020
Criminal arrests dropped 54%, with infractions and motor vehicle arrests falling by larger percentages. Criminal arrests, infractions, and motor vehicle arrests, January to April 2020 –54% –69% –82% 7,000 6,198 5,918 6,000 5,408 5,396 5,209 5,041 5,000 4,672 4,526 4,000 3,447 3,000 2,734 1,927 2,000 844 1,000 0 Criminal Arrest Infraction Motor Vehicle Arrest |2 Source: Criminal Record and Motor Vehicle System data and OPM Monthly Indicators Reports .
Pretrial admissions to the DOC shrank 73% between February and April, with a slight uptick anticipated in May. Number of Pretrial Number of pretrial admissions to the DOC each week, February 2 – May 17 19 2020. Admits to DOC each Month Feb. 2 286 1,030 9 229 16 241 Feb. 23 274 Mar. 1 249 8 247 15 721 103 22 59 Mar. 29 63 Apr. 5 49 12 281 76 19 77 Apr. 26 79 May 3 93 300* 10 91 May 17 116 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 |3 Source: DOC population data provided to OPM CJPPD. *Data from the week of May 24 is not yet included.
Discretionary releases from DOC increased further in April, drastically reducing the number of end-of-sentence discharges. Releases from DOC sentenced pop. by discretionary release vs. end-of-sentence discharge, by absolute number and percent, Feb. to Apr. 2019 and 2020 800 700 The number of discretionary releases 600 increased 28% between April 2019 and 425 344 411 500 522 2020 (425 to 545). 303 545 400 Discretionary Release 300 200 354 339 319 … 284 237 100 End-of-Sentence (EOS) 149 0 Feb Mar Apr Feb Mar Apr 2019 2020 In April 2020, 79% of people returned to the community with supervision under a 49% 52% 56% 56% discretionary release mechanism, up 23 69% 79% points from April 2019 (56% to 79%). 51% 48% 44% 44% … The increase in 2020 in discretionary 31% 21% releases helped reduce the number of people released from DOC with no Feb Mar Apr Feb Mar Apr 2019 2020 community supervision (an EOS discharge). |4 Source: CT DOC. Excludes exits to special parole. The DOC is legally required to release an inmate in its custody at the conclusion of their court-stipulated sentence
More people receiving discretionary release had longer amounts of time left to serve on their sentence in April 2020 than the previous year. Time left on sentences at the time of release, people receiving discretionary release in April 2019 and 2020 < 1 week 1 week to 2 weeks 2 weeks to 1 month 1 month to 2 months 2 months to 6 months more than 6 months 350 297 300 250 51% increase 197 200 162 In discretionary releases for 146 150 people with six months or more left on their sentence. 100 (197 and 297 in April 2019 and 2020) 47 42 50 30 28 7 6 4 0 0 Apr. 2019 Apr. 2020 Source: CT DOC and The CT Open Data Portal. The small number of cases in the three lowest subgroups can cause the percent change to be exaggerated. For example, there was a 17% increase in the 1-week-to 2-week |5 subgroup from April 2019 to 2020 even though the difference was only one person in absolute terms
Criminal justice agencies tailored use of discretionary-release mechanisms while responding to the public-health emergency. Discretionary releases from DOC to transfer parole, furlough, transitional placement, and halfway house, January to May 2020 140 1,200 119 116 120 1017 989 988 971 1,000 97 100 800 732 80 74 66 66 63 63 600 60 46 42 41 400 40 19 200 20 12 9 3 0 0 Transfer Parole Furlough Transitional Placement Halfway House Source: CT DOC data presented in May Monthly Indicators Report . Excludes release to nursing home and special parole releases as well as |6 end-of-sentence discharges.
Since March 1, the correction population has fallen 15 percent. Percent change in the pretrial and sentenced populations in DOC from March 1, to May 22, 2020 2% Total –15% 0% -2% -4% -6% -8% Pretrial –9% -10% -12% -14% -16% Sentenced –17% -18% -20% Mar. 1 Mar. 15 Apr. 1 Apr. 15 May 1 May 15 May 22 Source: OPM CJPPD “Date-Filtered Daily Count Data” and Open Data Portal. . “Sentenced” category includes people serving a term of incarceration imposed by a Connecticut criminal court. “Pretrial” includes defendant held on bond, awaiting disposition of pending charges. |7
Connecticut’s correction population has returned to May 1991 levels. Correction population by sentenced, pretrial, and other, March 1 to May 22, 2020 Correction March 1 May 22 % Change Net Change Group Sentenced 9,036 7,480 –17% –1,556 Pretrial 3,049 2,765 –9% –284 Other 324 254 –22% –70 Total 12,409 10,499 –15% –1,910 Connecticut’s recent correction population decrease is the size of the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution , New England’s most populous correction facility . (March 1 to May 22, 2020) Source: DOC population data provided to OPM CJPPD. “Other” includes special parole remandees and inmates incarcerated at CT DOC from other jurisdictions. |8
Connecticut currently has had the sixth-largest correction population drop during the COVID-19 public-health emergency among 40 other states and the federal system. Correction population changes in 41 states and the Bureau of Prisons, collected at year-end 2019 and late April / early May 2020. 0% -5% -10% Percentage reduction, pre-emergency to early May -10.7% -15% -20% Connecticut had the 6 th largest prison population decrease across state systems Source: Prison Policy Initiative. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2020/05/14/jails-vs-prison-update/. Incorporates counts collected |9 by the Vera Institute of Justice: https://www.vera.org/downloads/publications/people-in-prison-in-2019.pdf
Thank you. For more information, please visit https://portal.ct.gov/OPM/CJ-About/Homepage/CJPPD
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