Author: Pamela K Lattimore

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-11

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 9780367857684

"This volume will address major issues and research in corrections and sentencing with the goal of using previous research and findings as a platform for recommendations about future research, evaluation, and policy. The last several decades witnessed major policy changes in sentencing and corrections in the United States, as well as considerable research to identify the most effective strategies for addressing criminal behavior. These efforts, driven in part by drug epidemics and increases in crime in the late 20th century, included changes in sentencing led by the federal government that eliminated parole and imposed draconian sentences for violent and drug crimes. The federal government, followed by most states, implemented sentencing guidelines that greatly reduced the discretion of the courts to impose sentences. The results were a multi-fold increase in the numbers of individuals in jails, prisons, and on community supervision-increases that have only recently crested. In addition to changes in sentencing practices, there were efforts to engage prosecutors and the courts in diversion and oversight. These efforts included the development of prosecutorial diversion programs, as well as a variety of specialty courts including those addressing offenders with drug or mental health issues and those focused on individuals with other types of special needs such as youths or veterans. Penal reform has included efforts to rehabilitate prisoners, including a variety of federal-led efforts focused on reentry programming. Community corrections reforms have ranged from increased surveillance through drug testing, electronic monitoring, and in some cases, judicial oversight, to rehabilitative efforts driven by risk and needs assessment. More recently, the focus has included pretrial reform to reduce the number of people held in jail pending trial, efforts that have brought attention to the use of bail and its disproportionate impact on the poor. Other parts of the justice system have also increasingly turned to fees-for supervision, for drug testing, for "lodging" in jail-and fines to cover the agency costs and, in some cases, general fund expenditures. Inability to pay these fees and fines can lead to a cycle of incarceration that is difficult for an individual to break. This collection of essays from leading researchers in the field addresses a wide array of the latest research in the field, covering the broader areas of courts and sentencing; community supervision; and prisons, jails, and reentry. A unique approach featuring responses to the original essays by active researchers spurs discussion and provides a foundation for developing directions for future research and policymaking"--