|
Latest Developments
- Vera’s Center on Sentencing and Corrections and the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Public Safety Performance Project hosted a multistate meeting March 26-28, 2008, in Washington, DC. The meeting focused on community corrections reform and convened delegations from Alabama, Connecticut, and Illinois. Click here to download meeting materials.
- On December 21, 2007, Reagan Daly and Maggie Peck presented the results of a study on the possibility of merging probation and parole in Nebraska to the state’s Community Corrections Council. The study recommended against merging the two administrations right now, for a variety of reasons. Click here to download a copy of the final report.
- On February 12, 2007, Nebraska was selected for intensive technical assistance on sentencing and corrections issues through the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Charitable Trusts. With support from Pew, Vera will continue to work with officials in Nebraska to improve and expand community corrections programs and assist with the implementation and training on newly drafted sentencing guidelines for felony drug offenders. Through this four-year national project, Pew will support in-depth research and education for policymakers and the public to help states increase public safety, manage corrections spending, and hold offenders accountable in eight states.
- Crime rates are inching up again in many parts of the United States after falling for many years. In Reconsidering Incarceration, a new publication from the Center on Sentencing and Corrections, Don Stemen examines the current research on the effectiveness of incarceration in reducing crime rates and suggests that policymakers consider investing in areas such as policing or education, which show equal or better correlation with lower rates of crime.
Receive Updates |
|
|
|
Overview
The Center on Sentencing and Corrections (CSC) provides non-partisan support to government officials and criminal justice professionals charged with addressing their jurisdiction's sentencing and corrections policy. Using empirical data and evidence-based practices, we identify emerging trends and issues in the field and help stakeholders develop cost-effective strategies for protecting public safety.
Upon invitation, CSC dispatches teams of trained staff and practitioners to help officials assess their needs and develop strategies for advancing reform. Each team comprises a mix of professional backgrounds and skills, knowledge of the substantive issues, and a keen appreciation for the political environments in which criminal justice policy is created. In some cases, the Center brings together officials from several states to learn from one another on a topic of common concern, such as how budget constraints affect criminal justice policies and practices. This multifaceted approach is designed to address the numerous and evolving issues and problems facing sentencing and corrections.
CSC's researchers study and analyze state sentencing and correctional programs. They have also developed an archive of national and state criminal justice data to help states better understand how their systems compare. Through independent research, CSC researchers educate policymakers and advance knowledge in the field. We also provide daily news updates from papers around the country and Issues in Brief, an ongoing series of publications that provides clear and concise summaries of timely topics such as the effects of the budget crisis on sentencing and incarceration, drug courts, and pre-release programs for inmates.
Since the inception of the State Sentencing and Corrections Program in 1999—the predecessor to the Center on Sentencing and Corrections—Vera has provided assistance to officials in more than twenty states. Center associates are currently working with policymakers in Nebraska and Illinois who are revising their approach to community corrections and reviewing state sentencing policy. CSC staff have also helped Hamilton County, Ohio, (Cincinnati) evaluate the needs of the county's jail population. In Alabama, the Center is assisting officials to implement a new statutory sentencing structure and treatment options for nonviolent drug offenders. In Oregon, the Center is providing information on projection models for the state's prison population. In New York, the Center is working with policymakers on improving parole practices.
To learn more about how the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institute of Justice can provide assistance for your jurisdiction, contact , associate center director.
[ last modified 4/18/2008 10:03:38 AM ] |
|
|
|
::: View a short film about Vera. [Go]
