Archive: Dec 2007

resources for those starting reentry programs?

Chris Uggen on December 5, 2007

after years of fits and starts, prisoner reentry programs are now blooming like tulips in springtime. i’m regularly getting calls and emails such as the one i’ve anonymized below, but i rarely have good advice to offer.

Mr. Uggen,
My name is ___, and we are presently in contact with the director of Chaplain Services for [name] Penitentiary about starting a program to assist ex-offenders realize the potential that is within them and help them to develop that potential. This is something that is new to me, so I am not very knowledgeable about this matter, but my passion to assist in this matter will enable me to be able to help some. Then I want to talk with local Pastors to get more involved as well.
The reason that I am contacting you is because of the write up that you did with Mr. Manza on “The President Is Right: Ex-Felons Need Aid.” I was hoping that you could give me some insight that I may use to help in the re-entry of our fellow brothers and sisters in this to be successful in their efforts to re-enter society… If you have anything that you feel that will help us to be more effective, we will truly appreciate any kind of assistance you may be able to provide.
Thank you very much …

in response to such queries, i usually mention a few research studies and ex-prisoners’ needs for work and family support, but i rarely have any concrete program or funding suggestions. here are a few sites that might offer that sort of guidance:

1. the department of Justice now offers a helpful reentry site with a clickable map to access state and local resources.

2. reentry.net, a clearinghouse of materials for attorneys, social service providers, and policy reform advocates on reentry and the consequences of criminal proceedings.
3. john jay’s prisoner reentry institute reports on new research and offers resource lists.
4. the national governors association prisoner reentry policy academy.

5. the urban institute’s Justice impressive reentry research and roundtable discussions.

perhaps others might offer additional sites or ideas for starting reentry projects.

felony murder

Chris Uggen on December 4, 2007

adam liptak contributes another fine criminal Justice piece to today’s times, this time on the felony murder doctrine. felony murder rules treat any death occurring during the course of a felony as a first degree murder, with all participants in said felony subject to murder charges.

the story details the case of ryan holle, who is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole. mr. holle lent his car to a friend who killed a young woman while attempting to steal a safe. mr. liptak’s article touches on several themes that might make for a productive discussion in a crim course: u.s. legal exceptionalism, life sentences for young people, the culpability of accomplices, general v. specific deterrence…

selectivity bias and CDC report on juvenile transfers

Chris Uggen on December 3, 2007

the washington post and other media have publicized a new CDC panel report published in morbidity and mortality weekly. after comparing recidivism rates in six strong studies of youth transferred to the adult system with those of youth who stayed in the juvenile system, the authors conclude the following:

Review of the effects of transfer laws on subsequent violence indicates that the experience of transfer to the adult criminal Justice system is associated with subsequent violence among juvenile participants when compared with violence among juveniles retained in the juvenile Justice system. In addition, little evidence supports the idea that transfer laws deter juveniles in the general population from violent crime… use of transfer laws and strengthened transfer policies is counterproductive to reducing juvenile violence and enhancing public safety.

hmm. though i’m sympathetic to the authors’ viewpoint and i really liked each of the studies cited in the report, i’m not completely convinced that they have cracked the problem of sample selection. this is a very difficult thing to do in this research setting, since kids are (literally) selected for transfer on the basis of their perceived dangerousness and likelihood of recidivism. here is the relevant passage on selectivity:

All of the included studies attempted to control for possible selection bias by restricting the cases under consideration to serious ones that would be eligible for transfer and by comparing the outcomes of cases transferred with those of cases retained in the juvenile system. In addition, they attempted to reduce selection bias by one of three methods: 1) by using statistical methods to control for factors that might affect transfer decisions (23–25); 2) by matching transferred and retained juveniles on background characteristics (26,27); or 3) by comparing the outcomes of juveniles matched on background demographics, economics, and crime characteristics, but in jurisdictions with difference transfer laws (28).

well, that’s a good start, i suppose. what were the results? of the six studies of transfer to the adult system, one found a deterrent effect, one found no effect, and four found widely varying estimates of increased violence or general crime. the cdc report did not discuss the suspected mechanisms for the deleterious effects of adult transfer, though i believe that the literature typically offers some variant of a brutalization hypothesis.

my sense is that transfer to the adult system probably does indeed increase recidivism and compromise public safety. that said, the specific selection criterion to get into the treatment group in these studies (predicted dangerousness) is uncomfortably close to the substantive outcome measure used to assess their effectiveness (violent recidivism). that’s why i’m not sure that the evidence is strong enough here to warrant definitive causal claims. perhaps it is safer to state the conclusion in the negative: after examining the best available studies on the subject, there is almost no evidence suggesting that adult transfer provisions reduce subsequent crime.

running of the santas to benefit legal aid

Chris Uggen on December 2, 2007

we were blessed with perfect minnesota weather for saturday’s running of the santas. via the pi press:

For the second year, a pack of Santas went for a run on Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis as part of the Santa Run to Benefit Legal Aid. You didn’t need connections to Mr. Claus to participate – a $10 registration fee and a minimum $100 sponsorship got Santa wannabes entered in the 1¼-mile run and a Santa suit, hat and white beard; kids just got Santa hats.

“They got two paths cleared down the mall in time for the Santas to run back and forth,” said Bruce Adelsman, who photographed the event for skinnyski.com. “It’s fun to see the reaction of people who are downtown shopping and don’t know the event is going on – at first they see one or two Santas, followed by a wave of Santas, and they stop and stare.”

mid-minnesota legal assistance is a terrific cause, worthy of year-round non-santa-specific support:

Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance (MMLA) is the primary provider of general civil legal services to low-income and elderly people in 20 central Minnesota counties. It also provides legal services to elderly persons in two additional counties. MMLA provides these services through its three member corporations: the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis (LASM), St. Cloud Area Legal Services, and Western Minnesota Legal Services. This structure allows MMLA to staff three offices in Minneapolis, as well as offices in St. Cloud, Cambridge and Willmar. The oldest corporate component of MMLA —the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis— was founded in 1913. LASM is also the state-designated Protection and Advocacy agency for persons in Minnesota with developmental disabilities, mental illness and other disabilities. And it is the state Client Assistance Program that protects the rights of those seeking services from the vocational rehabilitation system.

apart from the year-round needs, a seasonal nicollet mall santa run seems like a really cool way to raise both cash and consciousness. here’s a li’l video from last year’s (snowless) event.