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Introduction to Public Safety ResearchJPI has dedicated this section
of its website to examining the complicated issues of crime, prisons,
and safety.
After a nearly continuous 13-year drop, crime rates in the U.S. have slightly increased. Nationwide, violent crime rose 2.3 percent between 2004 and 2005. Based on data in the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, released in December 2006, the upward trend appears to be continuing, as violent crime rose 3.7 percent between the first six months of 2005 and the same time period in 2006. While any rise in crime should be taken seriously, this recent uptick must be put in perspective. After experiencing a steady drop in violent crimes since a 1992 peak, crime rates remain near a 30-year low. The streets are still much safer today than they were a decade or so ago. According to surveys conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, the odds of being a victim of violent crime are approximately 60 percent lower today than they were in 1994. Despite the positive long-term trends, when confronted with rising levels of crime – or even the perception of rising crime – elected officials and other leading public voices tend to focus on finding an immediate short-term fix. Some call for more funds for policing – as they are doing now – and others, longer prison sentences. Although the United States has the highest incarceration rates in the world, it is not clear that prisons have made us safer. This issue is particularly important for non-White and low-income communities, which experience violent crime at significantly higher rates and are also the most impacted by the expanding use of prisons. If you know of any additional information that would be useful to visitors to this page, please forward it along to info@justicepolicy.orgReportsA Capitol Concern: The disproportionate impact of the justice system on low-Income communities in D.C.07-27-10 Author(s): Justice Policy Institute Topic(s): Adult Corrections, Public Safety, Racial Disparity, Washington D.C. Healing Invisible Wounds: Why Investing in Trauma-Informed Care for Children Makes Sense 07-07-10 Author(s): Justice Policy Institute Topic(s): Juvenile Justice, Public Safety Baltimore
Behind Bars: How to Reduce the Jail Population, Testimony on Impact of
Proposed 2011 Department of Justice Budget The
Costs
of Confinement: Why Good Juvenile Justice Policies Make Good
Fiscal Sense Pruning
Prisons:
How Cutting Corrections Can Save Money and Protect Public
Safety Bearing
Witness:
Baltimore City’s Residents Give Voice The
Release Valve: Parole in Maryland Registering
Harm:
How Sex Offense Registries Fail Youth Communities Walsh Act
Briefing Book Moving
Target:
A Decade of Resistance to the Prison Industrial Complex Substance
Abuse
Treatment and Public Safety Policy Brief (4 of 4 in series) Housing
and
Public Safety Policy Brief (3 of 4 in series) Employment,
Wages
and Public Safety Policy Brief (2 of 4 in series) Education
and
Public Safety Policy Brief (1 of 4 in series) Gang
Wars:
The Failure of Enforcement Tactics and the Need for Effective
Public Safety Strategies The
Dangers
of Detention: The Impact of Incarcerating Youth in Detention
and Other Secure Facilities Progress
and
Challenges: An Analysis of Drug Treatment and Imprisonment in
Maryland from 2000 to 2005 Ganging
Up
on Communities: Putting Gang Crime in Context Treatment
or
Incarceration: National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost
Savings of Drug Treatment Versus Imprisonment Workforce
and
Youth Development: Barriers and Promising Approaches to Workforce
and Youth Development for Young Offenders Fact SheetsBaltimore
Behind Bars: How to Reduce the Jail Population, Fact
Sheet:
Percent Change in Incarceration and Crime Rates - State by State
1998-2008 Fact Sheet:
For Immediate Release: How to Safely Reduce Prison Populations Fact Sheet: 2009 FBI
Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report Fact
Sheet:
The Obama Administration’s 2011 Budget: Fact Sheet: FY2010
Department of Justice Budget: Fact Sheet: DOJ
Report on Prisoners in 2008 Fact Sheet:
Response to 2008 FBI Uniform Crime Report (Full) Fact Sheet: Response
to 2008 FBI Uniform Crime Report Factsheet:
Response
to 2007 FBI Uniform Crime Report Partners/ResourcesNew poll shows Americans support investing in
prevention, not trying youth as adults. A new public opinion survey
commissioned by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency by
Zogby International Inc. found that 80 percent of those surveyed think
that spending on rehabilitative services and treatment for youth will
save tax dollars in the long run, and two thirds disagree that
incarcerating youth in adult facilities deters youth from crime. Young people are not driving rising crime: Putting
America’s public safety challenges into perspective. In Too
Soon to Tell: Deciphering Recent Trends in Youth Violence,
by Jeffrey A. Butts and Howard N. Snyder, The Chapin Hall Center for
Children at the University of Chicago shows that while crime may have
risen this year “it is inappropriate to describe the turnaround in
violent crime as a problem of ‘juvenile’ violence.” Rising incarceration rates do not mean less crime. In
Reconsidering
Incarceration:
New Directions for Reducing Crime, by Don Stemen, The
Vera Institute of Justice examines the most recent
research on the effectiveness of incarceration in reducing crime rates.
The evidence shows incarceration to have some effect on reducing crime.
However, it also suggests that policymakers consider investing in areas
such as policing, jobs, or education, which show equal or better
correlation with lower rates of crime. Evaluation of Department of Justice Prevention
Programs. A National Institute of Justice report Preventing Crime:
An Overview, by Lawrence W. Sherman et al, found that some
prevention programs work, some do not, some are promising, and some
have not been tested adequately. Given the evidence of promising and
effective programs, the report found that the effectiveness of
Department of Justice funding depends heavily on whether it is directed
to the urban neighborhoods where youth violence is highly concentrated.
Substantial reductions in national rates of serious crime can only be
achieved by prevention in areas of concentrated poverty, where the
majority of all homicides in the nation occur, and where homicide rates
are 20 times the national average. Cost-benefits of Alternatives to Incarceration. A
2006 study
by Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) concluded that
one dollar invested in imprisoning people convicted of drug offenses
produced just $.37 in crime reduction benefits to taxpayers and
victims, while providing drug treatment to offenders in the community
produced $18.52 in benefits. WSIPP carries out non-partisan research on
a multitude of topics, including the adult and juvenile criminal
justice systems, and provides exemplary cost-benefit analyses of
alternatives to incarceration, including drug treatment programs. Treatment is more cost effective than prison.
The 1997 Rand Corporation study Mandatory
Minimum
Drug Sentences: Throwing Away the Key or the Taxpayers’ Money,
by Jonathan P. Caulkins, C. Peter Rydell, William L. Schwabe and James
Chiesa, compares the cost-effectiveness of three programs designed to
reduce consumption of cocaine: longer sentences, conventional
enforcement and treatment for heavy users. The authors estimate that
treatment is a 10 to 15 times more cost-effective way of reducing
drug-related crime than are enforcement interventions. Survey backs drug treatment: Most respondents view
programs as prison alternative for addicts. A
2006 poll commissioned by the Open Society Institute-Baltimore
found that likely voters in Maryland favor mandatory treatment for drug
users over prison by more than 4 to 1; 67 percent view drug treatment
as being more effective than incarceration. The poll also showed that
69 percent of voters see treatment as an effective way to overcome drug
addiction. More education means less crime. In Saving
Futures, Saving Dollars: The Impact of Education on Crime Reduction and
Earnings (PDF) , The Alliance for Excellent Education
reported that a 5 percent increase in male high school graduation rates
(in 2006) would produce an annual savings of almost $5 billion in
crime-related expenses. Coupled with annual earnings of those who
graduated, the U.S. would receive $7.7 billion in benefits. California
itself would receive over $1 billion in benefits from these increasing
graduation rates. State by state analysis is included. Law enforcement agrees that prevention is key to
reducing youth violence. A 2002 National
Law
Enforcement Leadership Survey (PDF) conducted by Fight
Crime: Invest in Kids showed that 71.1 percent of surveyed chiefs of
police, sheriffs and prosecutors agreed that providing more educational
and after-school programs would make the greatest impact in reducing
youth crime and violence. The poll showed that only 14.9 percent said
that hiring more police would have the greatest impact. Prison population expected to grow. A
report
by Pew Charitable Trusts Public Safety,
Public Spending: Forecasting America’s Prison Population 2007-2011 is
the
first known attempt to determine the future growth of the nation’s
state and federal prison systems as a whole, along with the projected
cost of that growth. Its findings show that America’s prison population
will continue its extraordinary growth in the coming years, with more
than 192,000 prisoners added by 2011. This growth will carry a heavy
fiscal burden, estimated at up to $12.5 billion in new prison
construction and $15 billion in operations costs. Survey Results show changing public attitudes toward the criminal justice system. A 2002 survey (PDF) by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc found that a strong majority of Americans (66 percent) think that rehabilitation through education and job training is the best way to reduce crime. 63 percent of Americans surveyed said that drug abusers should be treated rather than incarcerated. 85 percent of those surveyed supported prevention and intervention programs for youth rather than incarceration. In addition, 56 percent of adult Americans favor the elimination of three-strike laws and mandatory sentencing. |
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