Justice Reinvestment in Missouri Fourth presentation to the Missouri State Justice Reinvestment Task Force November 28, 2017 Andy Barbee , Director of Research Grace Call , Policy Advisor Rachael Druckhammer, Senior Research Associate Ben Shelor, Policy Analyst
The Council of State Governments Justice Center National nonprofit, nonpartisan membership association of state government officials that engage members of all three branches of state government. The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice informed by the best available evidence. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 2
Since the last Justice Reinvestment Task Force meeting in October, CSG Justice Center staff have spoken with a wide array of stakeholders Meetings and Calls • State Agencies: • Missouri Department of Corrections (MDOC) leadership, division directors, and behavioral health treatment providers • Missouri Department of Mental Health (MDMH) leadership and division administrators • St. Louis County Jail: • Meeting with leadership and staff at the St. Louis County Jail to learn more about recent reform efforts related to the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. • Community Treatment Providers: • Preferred Family Healthcare, Jefferson City, Missouri • Missouri Legislators Facility Tours • Cremer Therapeutic Community Center (CTCC) , Fulton • Women’s Eastern Reception, Diagnostic, and Correctional Center (WERDCC) , Vandalia • Gateway Foundation “Free and Clean” Program, St. Louis Council of State Governments Justice Center | 3
CSG Justice Center staff have gathered regional perspectives in stakeholder engagement that reflect the state’s size and diversity Since April 2017 90+ CALLS & MEETINGS 14 SITE VISITS 3,800+ MILES DRIVEN Members of the CSG Justice Center team made two site visits to Missouri, which Since the last included visits to St. Louis, Jefferson City, and Vandalia. Stakeholders engaged during presentation… these visits included correctional administrators, behavioral health practitioners, treatment providers, and more. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 4
Missouri’s current prison population growth will require spending hundreds of millions in construction and operating costs If current trends continue, Missouri Prison Population and Projected Growth, FY2010–2020 MDOC will be 2,351 prison 36,000 34,554 beds short of needed 34,000 32,837 capacity by the end of FY2021. 32,000 Capacity: 32,203 30,000 Ø The cost of constructing 30,386 a new 1,636 bed facility 28,000 (e.g., Chillicothe 26,000 women’s facility) is about $175 million. Actual population is based on population counts as of June 30 of each year. Ø Operating costs would approach $27 million Note: Above projection is best-case scenario of MDOC’s annually. projections. Furthermore, rate of growth in female prison population may necessitate construction on a greater scale, and sooner. Source: Missouri Department of Corrections Offender Profile, FY2016; Missouri Department of Corrections, August 2017 Population Forecast Council of State Governments Justice Center | 5
Missouri’s criminal justice system involves many decision points and actors Who stays in local jail beyond initial detention? Judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and sheriffs all play roles in determining who remains in jail while Prison cases are pending, as well as ultimate sentences. Jail Criminal activity leads to apprehension by local Keep in jail law enforcement and Send to or release 95% of all detention in county jail prison or on bond? who enter probation? prison will exit…are Community - they Pretrial ready? Community - Probation Community - Parole Recidivism v One of the primary objectives of reentry is to reduce recidivism, or the rate at which people return to criminal behavior patterns. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 6
Key takeaways from October presentation v While the total number of reported crimes is down in Missouri, violent crime has gone up in the last several years in both urban and rural areas. Moreover, arrests are not keeping pace with increases in violent crime, which is important because increased certainty of apprehension is the most cost-effective way to curb violent crime. v Missouri’s incarcerated female population is growing at an alarming rate . Women are more likely than men to be sentenced to prison for nonviolent or drug offenses and many are sent to prison to receive behavioral health treatment. A lack of such services in the community is straining the system and likely hampering outcomes. v Missouri can bolster its response to victims of violent crime by changing the state’s compensation policy and directing increased federal resources to people and communities that are impacted most. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 7
Today’s meeting focuses on pretrial issues and availability of jail beds Prison Jail Criminal activity leads to apprehension by local Keep in jail law enforcement and or release Send to detention in county jail 95% of all on bond? prison or who enter probation? prison will exit…are Community they - Pretrial ready? Community - Probation Community - Parole Recidivism Factors that Pretrial Diversion Crime, Arrest, and Court and contribute to and Bonding Revocation Sentencing practices jail Practices Practices populations Council of State Governments Justice Center | 8
The management of jail populations impacts the larger criminal justice system and drives investments for counties and the state Locally Statewide 1. Public Safety 1. Public Safety • Crime is local and jails are a key • Jail management practices can resource for public safety impact overall crime and public safety • Effective management of this resource means incarcerating • Research shows that jail sanctions people who represent a threat to can be used to effectively manage public safety people on probation or parole and improve outcomes • Prolonged incarceration can increase a person’s likelihood of committing crime in the future 2. Cost 2. Cost • Many states (including Missouri) • In most counties, the single largest reimburse or subsidize county jail cost driver is public safety operations • Many counties allocate between 2/3 • Management of jail populations and 3/4 of their budget to public impacts the state’s budget in direct safety and indirect ways Council of State Governments Justice Center | 9
Specific areas of focus for today’s presentation 1. What are jail population trends in Missouri? 2. What can be done, pretrial, to impact jail populations? 3. What approaches and programs are shown to be successful in addressing crime and recidivism in Missouri? 4. Are there better ways for the state to invest in and support jails and pretrial practices? How can better outcomes be achieved while encouraging innovation and allowing flexibility at the local level while not breaking the bank? Council of State Governments Justice Center | 10
Overview Understanding Factors that 1 Contribute to Jail Populations Breaking Down County Jail 2 Reimbursement Changing Missouri’s Jail 3 Reimbursement Paradigm
Factors contributing to jail populations q Who comes into contact with law enforcement? q Is jail the appropriate response? If not, are there any other viable options? q Once booked into jail, what sort of practices exist to identify flight and public safety risks in relation to pretrial release decision making? q Do indigent defendants have adequate and timely representation? q What sort of pretrial release and bonding practices are in place, such as release on recognizance, use of pretrial supervision, offense based bond schedules? q How efficient are courts in docketing cases and holding hearings, for both new cases and probation violators? Council of State Governments Justice Center | 12
Despite relatively flat admissions since 2010, Missouri’s jail populations have increased by 50 percent Jail Jail Missouri Jail Admission and Population Trends, 2000–2015 Admissions Population 300,000 12,000 10,355 250,000 10,000 210,889 195,992 Jail trends 2000–2015: 200,000 8,000 Ø Admissions up 8% 6,898 150,000 6,000 Ø Population up 50% 100,000 4,000 50,000 2,000 0 0 Source: Vera Incarceration Trends, http://trends.vera.org/rates/missouri?incarcerationData=all. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 13
Painting a picture of the more than 100 jails in Missouri is challenging Survey sent to all county jails Survey Questions: in Missouri q What is capacity of jail? q What is population as of a recent day? 19 responses (Jail with 1 bed ranging to jail with 601 beds) q Of total population, how many are: - Pretrial felons? - Pretrial Misdemeanants? Questions were mostly about jail - Sentenced to MDOC and capacity and population breakdowns. awaiting transfer - Sentenced to jail? Unfortunately, most of the responses related to population breakdowns q Use of risk assessments? involved double-counting of people in jail, which limits the utility of the q Use of mental health assessments? responses. Source: CSG survey of Missouri jail administrators. Council of State Governments Justice Center | 14
Recommend
More recommend
