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Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems
Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems
"EBDM is a strategic and deliberate method of applying empirical knowledge and research-supported principles to justice system decisions made at the case, agency, and system level. The initiative team developed the EBDM framework, which posits that public safety outcomes will be improved when justice system stakeholders engage in truly collaborative partnerships, use research to guide their work, and work together to achieve safer communities, more efficient use of tax dollars, and fewer victims. The goal of [National Institute of Corrections'] Evidence-Based Decision Making Initiative is to build a systemwide framework (arrest through final disposition and discharge) that will result in more collaborative, evidence-based decision making and practices in local criminal justice systems. The initiative is grounded in the knowledge accumulated over two decades on the factors that contribute to criminal reoffending and the processes and methods the justice system can employ to interrupt this cycle of reoffensed decisions can produce more effective policy decisions, and as a result, better outcomes for the community." Information about the NIC EBDM initiative can be found here. Points of access are: home--introduction; framework; phases—Phase I Framework Development, Phase II Planning Process, Phase III Implementation, and Phase IV Expansion to Statewide Structure, and Phase V - Building EBDM Capacity at the Individual, Agency, and System Levels; pilot sites—links to webpages with information about each of the seven pilot sites about: the EBDM stakeholders (i.e., the vision for EBDM, the EDBM executive committee composition, and what stakeholders in the pilot site are saying about the EBDM initiative), harm reduction goals, and material produced by the pilot site about EBDM in their jurisdiction; EBDM Roadmap Starter Kit—Activity 1--Build a genuine, collaborative policy team; Activity 2--Build individual agencies that are collaborative and in a state of readiness for change, Activity 3--Understand current practice within each agency and across the system, Activity 4--Understand and have the capacity to implement evidence-based practices, Activity 5--Develop logic models, Activity 6--Establish performance measures, determine outcomes, and develop a system scorecard, Activity 7--Engage and gain the support of a broader set of stakeholders and the community, and Activity 8--Develop a strategic action plan for implementation; documents—"Press Release Mesa County [CO]", "A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems (A Work In Progress, Third Edition)", and the "EBDM Readiness Checklist"; and related publications.
Implementing Evidence-Based Services [Webinar]
Implementing Evidence-Based Services [Webinar]
If you are looking for an excellent introduction to how to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) in your juvenile agency, then this webinar is for you. Topics discussed include: how to identify EBPs; best proven model programs; advantages of proven EBPs; getting customer buy-in for EBP implementation; facing agency challenges during EBP adoption; key drivers; embedding EBPs in a juvenile justice agency; referral and engagement-- data collection; data collection example; analyzing family engagement barriers; family engagement strategies; EBP implementation—Inter-operability Framework; funding and sustainability; and EBP implementation in 8 states.
Effective Clinical Practices in Treating Clients in the Criminal Justice System
Effective Clinical Practices in Treating Clients in the Criminal Justice System
This monograph is “intended to strengthen and improve the dissemination of evidence-based rehabilitative technologies for offenders, within the multidisciplinary context of correctional treatment” (p.x). Sections of this document include: executive summary; introduction — effective clinical practices and the critical need for collaboration; what evidence-based practice (EBP) is; overarching principles of effective correctional treatment; common therapeutic factors — what works in treatment generally; specific evidence-based modalities for criminal justice clients; and conclusion—what have we lost. There are four appendixes: confidentiality in correctional treatment; the separate and complementary functions of corrections and treatment; coerced treatment; and quality assurance.
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Implementing Proven Programs For Juvenile Offenders (2012)
Implementing Proven Programs For Juvenile Offenders (2012)
Evidence-based practice involves the use of scientific principles to assess the available evidence on program effectiveness and develop principles for best practice in any particular field. In delinquency prevention or intervention this includes: assessment of community and individual client needs; review and assessment of programs that could meet those needs; development and/or implementation of new programs; assignment of youth to particular programs; and monitoring of program fidelity and outcomes.
A Practical Approach to Evidence-Based Juvenile Justice Systems
A Practical Approach to Evidence-Based Juvenile Justice Systems
"This article presents a practical approach that JJ [juvenile justice] systems can take in achieving evidence-based programming that reduces recidivism. Most JJ system programs produce relatively small reductions in recidivism, on average, thus there is much room for improvement. A research-based approach to making program improvements system-wide—and with that, increase the cost effectiveness of the system itself—is presented in this article. The success of this effort, however, depends on delivery of the right service to the right youth at the right time. The OJJDP Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders provides the scaffolding and structured decision-making tools that can be used across entire juvenile justice systems for promoting effective matches between evidence-based services and offender treatment needs on an ongoing basis" (p. 1). Sections of this document include: introduction—what an evidence-based program is, and taking a proactive approach to program improvements; a Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders—the OJJDP Comprehensive Strategy, the age-crime curve, a developmental pathways model, and risk and protective factors; key administrative tools for achieving evidence-based juvenile justice systems—the right service, to the right youth, at the right time, a system of graduated sanctions/responses, and state examples of Comprehensive Strategy benefits (North Carolina and Florida); and conclusion.
The Bridge to Somewhere: How Research Made its Way into Legislative Juvenile Justice Reform in Ohio: A Case Study
The Bridge to Somewhere: How Research Made its Way into Legislative Juvenile Justice Reform in Ohio: A Case Study
The instrumental use of evidence-based research for influencing the passage of reform efforts affecting the juvenile justice system in Ohio is explained. “Many states across the country face the challenges posed by young people in the juvenile justice system. Ohio is among the few states that has created and implemented innovative funding strategies and relied on research and evaluation to improve its approach” (p. i). Sections following an executive summary are: introduction—case study as a learning tool and overview of partners and policy change with a focus on child well-being; leveraging the policy window—political climate, juvenile justice landscape in Ohio pre-reform and key stakeholders; juvenile justice as a compelling social problem—the role of policy research in making the case for reform; agenda-setting and framing solutions to “invest in what works”—using research to inform a policy reform plan; spheres of influence model—core team and collaborative strategy for juvenile justice policy reform; juvenile justice policies achieved within House Bill 86 reflect research-based, child development, and well-being perspective; and principles and implications for future policy reform efforts.
Can Risk Assessment Improve Juvenile Justice Practices?
Can Risk Assessment Improve Juvenile Justice Practices?
“A growing number of juvenile justice experts are suggesting a new, potentially more effective approach to reducing recidivism: first identify a youth’s risk of re-offending; then match services to his or her specific risk factors and responsiveness to specific types of interventions. This study examined the implementation of risk/needs assessment tools in six juvenile probation offices in two states, and what effects it had on the practices of the probation officers” (p. 1). Sections of this brief are: background; dynamic risk factors for delinquency; the implementation study; whether probation officers conduct risk/needs assessments reliably; whether the use of risk assessment changes juvenile probation officers’ practices and perceptions of risk; whether the use of risk assessment in juvenile probation lead to changes in the way youth are handled; use of assessments in decision-making by juvenile probation officers; change in post-adjudication, out-of-home placement rates; whether the use of risk assessment changes recidivism; why sound implementation of risk assessment is important; implications for policy and practice. The use of assessments results in suitable dispositions, often at lower levels of restriction. The result is better utilization of resources for high-risk youth with no increase in re-offending rates.
Drug Courts’ Effects on Criminal Offending for Juveniles and Adults
Drug Courts’ Effects on Criminal Offending for Juveniles and Adults
“The objective of this review is to systematically review quasi-experimental and experimental (RCT) evaluations of the effectiveness of drug courts in reducing recidivism, including drug courts for juvenile and DWI offenders. This systematic review critically assesses drug courts’ effects on recidivism in the short- and long-term, the methodological soundness of the existing evidence, and the relationship between drug court features and effectiveness” (p. 6). Results are provided for: a description of eligible studies; overall mean effects by type of drug court; robustness of findings to methodological weaknesses; drug courts’ long-term effects; features of the drug court; and additional sensitivity analysis. Overall, research shows that adult drug courts are effective in reducing recidivism, DWI drug courts moderately successful, and juvenile drug courts having small impact.
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Five Evidence-Based Policies Can Improve Community Supervision (2022)
Five Evidence-Based Policies Can Improve Community Supervision (2022)
The five policies are part of a larger, comprehensive menu of supervision reforms that Pew and Arnold Ventures released in 2020, “Policy Reforms Can Strengthen Community Supervision: A Framework to Improve Probation and Parole.”4 That framework sought to be broad enough to account for the many differences in probation and parole systems throughout the country, such as that they may operate at a local, county, or state level, and, from state to state, can fall under the authority of the executive or judicial branch.5 But regardless of how a system operates, research suggests that t
Community Supervision in a Digital World
Community Supervision in a Digital World
The changing nature of crime, along with an increase in digital literacy among the general population, has resulted in a greater number of tech-savvy individuals under community supervision. This presents unique challenges and opportunities for supervision agencies. A complete ban on supervisee access to technology is generally not justifiable (or practical) except in the most severe circumstances. Therefore, agencies must assess and manage the risk to public safety from supervisees' technology use.
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Principle 1. Assess Risk and Needs
Bias In, Bias Out (2019)
Bias In, Bias Out (2019)
Police, prosecutors, judges, and other criminal justice actors increasingly use algorithmic risk assessment to estimate the likelihood that a person will commit future crime. As many scholars have noted, these algorithms tend to have disparate racial impacts. In response, critics advocate three strategies of resistance: (1) the exclusion of input factors that correlate closely with race; (2) adjustments to algorithmic design to equalize predictions across racial lines; and (3) rejection of algorithmic methods altogether.
The Most Carefully Studied, yet Least Understood, Terms in the Criminal Justice Lexicon: Risk, Need, and Responsivity (2018)
The Most Carefully Studied, yet Least Understood, Terms in the Criminal Justice Lexicon: Risk, Need, and Responsivity (2018)
No program or intervention can be expected to work for everyone. Providing too much or the wrong kind of services not only fails to improve outcomes, but it can make outcomes worse by placing excessive burdens on some participants and interfering with their engagement in productive activities, like work or school. This is the foundation for a body of evidence-based principles referred to as risk, need, responsivity, or RNR (Andrews & Bonta, 2010).
Risk Assessment in Criminal Sentencing (2016)
Risk Assessment in Criminal Sentencing (2016)
The past several years have seen a surge of interest in using risk assessment in criminal sentencing, both to reduce recidivism by incapacitating or treating high-risk offenders and to reduce prison populations by diverting low-risk offenders from prison. We begin by sketching jurisprudential theories of sentencing, distinguishing those that rely on risk assessment from those that preclude it. We then characterize and illustrate the varying roles that risk assessment may play in the sentencing process.
SOTIPS: Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale
SOTIPS: Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale
“The Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS) is a statistically-derived dynamic measure designed to aid clinicians, correctional caseworkers, and probation and parole officers in assessing risk, treatment and supervision needs, and progress among adult males who have been convicted of one or more qualifying sexual offenses and committed at least one of these sexual offenses after their 18th birthday … SOTIPS item scores are intended to reflect an individual's relative treatment and supervision needs on each risk factor. The SOTIPS total score is intended to provide an estimation of an individual's overall level of dynamic risk and need for supervision and treatment” (p. 1). Sections of this manual include: overview and administration; item descriptions and scoring criteria; and the SOTIPS scoring sheet.
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Principle 2. Enhance Motivation to Change
Exercises for Developing MI Skills in Corrections
Exercises for Developing MI Skills in Corrections
Motivational interviewing (MI) helps clients become less ambivalent about altering their maladaptive behaviors. This publication presents “scenarios that agents commonly encounter in their efforts to monitor and reinforce court/parole/institutional conditions and address clients’ central eight criminogenic needs. This book also considers the learning tasks of MI in relation to the eight principles for effective interventions outlined in Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Community Corrections: The Principles of Effective Intervention, an NIC publication. Ordered in the sequence in which they are most commonly learned or mastered, the first five of these eight tasks for learning MI provide the structure for Exercises for Developing MI Skills in Corrections.” Chapters relating to these five tasks are: the spirit of motivational interviewing; active listening; recognizing and reinforcing change talk; eliciting and strengthening change talk; and responding to resistance. A glossary of related terms is also included.
Motivational Interviewing in Corrections: A Comprehensive Guide to Implementing MI in Corrections
Motivational Interviewing in Corrections: A Comprehensive Guide to Implementing MI in Corrections
This guide explains how to implement motivational interviewing (MI) in correctional settings. Motivational Interviewing is a counseling technique that enables people to get beyond their reluctance to change problem behaviors. MI is directive (focused on goals), client-centered, and non-confrontational. The first four chapters of this guide “address background and fundamental issues related to agency or systemwide implementation of MI … [while the last two chapters] address agency issues, such as organizational norms, mental models, and leadership styles that can significantly affect the success of MI implementation” (p. 5). These chapters are: what MI is; how MI is learned; supervising and coaching to support implementation; assessing motivational interviewing skills; and planning to help individuals develop MI skills in a correctional setting. A glossary is also included.
Motivational Interviewing (with a Criminal Justice Focus) Annotated Bibliography
Motivational Interviewing (with a Criminal Justice Focus) Annotated Bibliography
Motivational Interviewing (MI) was introduced to the field of corrections in the 1990s through the Evidence-based Practices (EBP) Model as a method for enhancing intrinsic motivation. Since that time, agencies throughout the U.S., in all criminal justice settings, have—to a greater or lesser degree—explored if, when, and how to implement this approach to communicating, building rapport, and tapping into the internal motivation of the clients and staff members they work with. This annotated bibliography contains the written resources pertaining specifically to the criminal justice field. In addition, certain documents considered seminal to the training, implementation, evaluation, coaching, and quality assurance of MI skills are included.
Motivating Offenders to Change: A Guide for Probation and Parole
Motivating Offenders to Change: A Guide for Probation and Parole
This publication "provides probation and parole officers and other correctional professionals with both a solid grounding in the principles behind MI [motivational interviewing] and a practical guide for applying these principles in their everyday dealings with offenders" (p.2). Seven chapters are contained in this guide: how MI fits in with evidence-based practice; how and why people change; the motivational interviewing style; preparing for change; building motivation for change; navigating through tough times--working with deception, violations, and sanctions; and from start to finish--putting MI into practice.
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Principle 3. Target Interventions
The Risk-Need-Responsivity Simulation Tool (2013) (2/4)
The Risk-Need-Responsivity Simulation Tool (2013) (2/4)
For people involved in the criminal justice system, evidence-based practice (EBP) and treatments emphasize that assessment and programming should target criminal justice, criminogenic need, and other behavioral issues. The notion is that individual outcomes can be improved by assessing for a number of related and often overlapping dimensions such as offending (e.g. criminal history risk), needs (e.g. antisocial peers, antisocial cognitions, antisocial values/thinking) and behavioral health factors (e.g. substance use, mental health, trauma).
Myths & Facts - Using Risk and Need Assessments to Enhance Outcomes and Reduce Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
Myths & Facts - Using Risk and Need Assessments to Enhance Outcomes and Reduce Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) is a network comprised of the leading associations representing 90,000-plus probation, parole, pretrial, and treatment professionals around the country, including the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI), the Federal Probation and Pretrial Officers Association (FPPOA), the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA), and the National Association of Probation Executives (NAPE).
This "Myths & Facts" package includes a one-page list of myths and facts along with a research-based supporting document to help dispel three specific myths regarding the use of risk and need assessments within the criminal justice system. A description and relevant research to dispel each myth is provided. Our network believes that risk and need assessments currently provide the most accurate, objective prediction of the risk to recidivate. While risk and need assessments do not predict with perfect accuracy, they guide practitioners in the field towards the most accurate and equitable decisions available for safely managing justice-involved individuals.
Myths & Facts - Why Incarceration Is Not the Best Way to Keep Communities Safe
Myths & Facts - Why Incarceration Is Not the Best Way to Keep Communities Safe
The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) is a network comprised of the leading associations representing 90,000-plus probation, parole, pretrial, and treatment professionals around the country, including the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI), the Federal Probation and Pretrial Officers Association (FPPOA), the International Community Corrections Association (ICCA), the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP), the National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA), and the National Association of Probation Executives (NAPE). This "Myths & Facts" package includes a one-page list of myths and facts along with a research-based supporting document to show the effectiveness of community corrections. This is not to suggest that prison does not play an important role in the continuum of criminal justice, but that incarceration is not always the best way to keep communities safe, or to break the cycle of criminal behavior, reduce recidivism or to save tax payer dollars. Our network believes that each of the points in the continuum play a vital role in keeping our communities safe and that we must better understand through evidence-based research and science when to use incarceration and when community corrections might be more effective.
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Principle 5. Increase Positive Reinforcements
Positive Direction for Change (2010)
Positive Direction for Change (2010)
Providing incentives and rewarding specific desired behavior motivates individuals to work toward long term behavior change. These strategies focus on public safety, victim protection and restitution, offender accountability, consistent and effective sanctioning, addressing substance abuse issues, reducing offender unemployment and most critically, reducing recidivism through long term behavior modification."
State of the Art of HOPE Probation (2015)
State of the Art of HOPE Probation (2015)
This report defines the essential elements of the HOPE strategy and defines additional recommended, but not essential, elements that enhance HOPE and ensure its success, and also describes in detail how the originating HOPE Probation strategy has evolved over 10 years of innovation and practice in Honolulu, Hawaii. The experience from Honolulu’s HOPE Probation provides an example for how other jurisdictions implementing HOPE can adjust and adapt to changing needs and make improvements to their own HOPE strategy over time.
HOPE Probation: Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement
HOPE Probation: Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement
The Community Corrections Collaborative Network (CCCN) hosted a live webinar event with our federal partners and national and local experts to highlight Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE), a collaborative strategy among the court, probation, prosecutors, defense, law enforcement and community treatment providers to effect positive behavioral changes in probationers. HOPE was first conceived of by Judge Steven S. Alm of the O’ahu First Circuit and began as a pilot program in 2004.
The HOPE strategy targets higher risk/higher needs offenders, utilizing swift, certain, consistent, and proportionate consequences for non-compliance with probation conditions while maintaining a working alliance with the offender by both the probation officer and the judge. Within the framework of the National Institute of Corrections’ eight evidence-based principles for recidivism reduction, HOPE assists offenders in the change process in a caring and supportive environment to help probationers succeed on probation and in life. While seemingly a simple theoretical model, HOPE is hard to do, and requires shared leadership within the criminal justice system.
Research has shown that the HOPE strategy, when done with fidelity, can be highly successful and is inspiring like efforts in thirty-one states across the country. The CCCN believes that individual jurisdictions can adopt the swift and certain philosophy while modifying it to fit the needs and resources available in local communities. Our network is committed to identifying promising and innovative practices and promoting the use of evidence-based practices.
Objectives for the Webinar:
- Showcase the innovative HOPE Program and how it can be replicated stateside;
- Discuss HOPE's innovative programmatic design, implementation and evaluation characteristics including:
- HOPE's collaboration and systems approach (Court/Probation/Law Enforcement/Community Treatment Providers working together for a common goal),
- buy-in from staff/engagement/inclusion/supporting each other,
- matching probationers to the right services instead of one-size fits all,
- succession planning and sustainability build to success,
- and research, randomized control trials, and high level scientific design proving the effectiveness of the program;
- and engage the criminal justice system in a live discussion about the HOPE Program, resources for the field, how to access funding through federal resources, ideas for replication of similar approaches, and how to motivate our leaders to want to do more.
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Principle 7. Measure Relevant Processes & Practices
WSIPP’s Benefit-Cost Tool for States: Examining Policy Options in Sentencing and Corrections
WSIPP’s Benefit-Cost Tool for States: Examining Policy Options in Sentencing and Corrections
The development and implementation of an analytical tool that helps states determine which evidence-based practices are most cost effective in preventing crime and lowering correctional costs. “The project’s overall goal is to use the best information available to identify sentencing and corrections policies that can help states protect public safety and control taxpayer costs. To accomplish this goal, we have constructed a benefit-cost “investment” model that estimates crime and fiscal outcomes of different combinations of public policies” (p. 1). Sections of this report that follow a summary include: background; project element 1—development of the sentencing tool; project element 2—application of the tool to Washington’s policy process; and project element 3—software development and next steps.
APEX: Building the Model and Beginning the Journey
APEX: Building the Model and Beginning the Journey
“Through extensive research and analysis, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is offering the field of corrections a comprehensive business model entitled the APEX (Achieving Performance Excellence) Initiative. The APEX Initiative is an agency-driven systems approach to building capacity for higher organizational performance, best practices, data-driven decisionmaking using multiple self-assessment tools, and a Guidebook series with strategies, interventions, and pathways. The APEX Public Safety Model presents a whole-systems view of a correctional agency” (p. v). You definitely want to put this on your must read soon list! Ten chapters follow an introduction to Achieving Performance Excellence (APEX): overview to APEX; APEX Leadership Domain; APEX Organizational Culture Domain; APEX Operations Focus Domain; APEX Stakeholder Domain; APEX Workforce Domain; APEX Strategic Planning Domain; APEX Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management Domain; APEX Results Domain; and developing a 7-step communications plan.
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Principle 8. Measurement Feedback
Evidence-Based Practice: Principles for Enhancing Correctional Results in Prisons
Evidence-Based Practice: Principles for Enhancing Correctional Results in Prisons
"The purpose of this paper is to introduce prison administrators and staff to an accumulated body of knowledge regarding correctional practice to enhance their management of their prisons" (p.1). Sections comprising this discussion paper are: introduction -- transition from prison to the community, effective correctional practice, overview of prison research findings for prison classification, and summary; an overview of prison classification and risk assessment – correctional programming, guidelines, staff, and impact; and prison realities -- organizational culture and priorities, staff recruitment and training, role of staff, additional considerations (such as gangs, drugs, threats, and extortion), excellence in prison practice, implications for correctional practice, anticipated goals and outcomes, integration with community corrections, and corporate accountability. Provided as appendixes are "Eight Evidence-Based Principles for Effective Practice: Linking to Prison-Based Corrections" and "Measuring Inmate Competencies."
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Drug Testing as a Condition of Supervision (2020)
Drug Testing as a Condition of Supervision (2020)
The purpose of the Research in Brief series is to evaluate popular or emerging policy and practice options pertaining to adults in the criminal justice system to determine whether there is an evidence base to support them. The briefs were written after researchers reviewed the best available research on the topics in the briefs. Researchers assessed the strength of the evidence in terms of the rigor of the research supporting these topics.
OJJDP Model Programs Guide
OJJDP Model Programs Guide
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP’s) Model Programs Guide (MPG) contains information about evidence-based juvenile justice and youth prevention, intervention, and reentry programs. It is a resource for practitioners and communities about what works, what is promising, and what does not work in juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and child protection and safety. MPG uses expert study reviewers and CrimeSolutions.gov’s program review process, scoring instrument, and evidence ratings.
University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute
University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute
UCCI is committed to the dissemination of best practices to communities, facilities, and agencies seeking to change offender behavior. We work with federal, state, and local governments, and with the private sector and professional organizations, to promote effective interventions and assessments for adult and juvenile offenders. Institute offerings include Technical Assistance, Staff Training, Distance Learning, and Research and Development.
NIJ's Crimesolutions.gov
NIJ's Crimesolutions.gov
The National Institute of Justice’s CrimeSolutions.gov is comprised of two components — a web-based clearinghouse of programs and practices and a process for identifying and rating those programs and practices.
Justice Policy Center
Justice Policy Center
Our scholars conduct research and evaluations to improve justice policy and practice at the national, state, and local levels. We examine the development, implementation, and impact of policing, crime prevention, and gang disruption initiatives. As America’s prisons and jails face unsustainable growth and dangerous overcrowding, we are finding ways to reduce the prison population while preserving public safety. And we are assessing whether new and emerging criminal justice technologies are effective, how they are used, and what their implications are for privacy and civil liberties.
Evidence-Based Practices in the Criminal Justice System: An Annotated Bibliography
Evidence-Based Practices in the Criminal Justice System: An Annotated Bibliography
“What Is the Evidence? Evidence-based policy and practice is focused on reducing offender risk, which in turn reduces new crime and improves public safety. Of the many available approaches to community supervision, a few core principles stand out as proven risk reduction strategies. Though not all of the principles are supported by the same weight of evidence, each has been proven to influence positive behavior change. To organize the research, these core principles have been compiled… into the 8 Principles of evidence-based practice in corrections. This bibliography is not a complete list of “EBP” citations, but a mere selection based on questions we receive at the Information Center. They are organized according to: Introduction; In the Beginning; Principles 1 and 3. Assess Risk and Needs and Target Interventions--Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR), and Dosage; Principle 2. Enhance Motivation to Change; Principle 4. Skill Training with Directed Practice (CBT); Principle 5. Increase Positive Reinforcement (See Incentives and Sanctions/Contingency Management); Principle 6. Engage Ongoing Community Support; Principles 7 & 8. Measure Relevant Processes and Practices and Measurement Feedback; Blueprints Programs; Caseload Size; Evaluated Programs, including Core Correctional Practices (CCP); Incentives and Sanctions/Contingency Management; Juveniles; Pretrial Services; Prisons; Sex Offenders; Specialized Assessment; Specialty Courts; Supervision by Risk Level; Women Offenders; Training Materials/Presentations; Websites; and Agency Reports.