Home Secretary Theresa May hailed an "important step forward for child protection" as Sarah's Law, which allows parents to check if someone has a history of child sex offences, was rolled out nationally today.
Mrs. May said the programme, which followed the abduction and murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by convicted sex offender Roy Whiting 10 years ago, will also help police manage known sex offenders more effectively. Read more...
Monday, August 9, 2010
Mississippi's Corrections Reform: How America's reddest state -- and most notorious prison -- became a model of corrections reform
In January 2002, Margaret Winter, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) National Prison Project, received a letter from Willie Russell, an inmate on Mississippi's death row.
Unit 32 was one of seven prisons located on Mississippi's fabled penal institution, Parchman Farm. As described by Russell, it was also a lot like hell. Inmates were locked in permanent solitary confinement. In the summer, the cells were ovens, with no fans or air circulation. Russell's was even worse: He was in a special "punishment" cell with a solid, unvented Plexiglas door. The cells were also sewers, thanks to a design flaw in cellblock toilets that often flushed excrement from one cell into the next. Prisoners were allowed outside -- to pace or sit alone in metal cages -- just two or three times a week. Inside was a perpetual dusk: One always-on light fixture provided inadequate light for reading but enough light to make it hard to sleep. Read more...
"I am on a hunger strike to the death," the letter began. In highly idiosyncratic language, the letter then described conditions at the facility where death row was housed, Unit 32.
Unit 32 was one of seven prisons located on Mississippi's fabled penal institution, Parchman Farm. As described by Russell, it was also a lot like hell. Inmates were locked in permanent solitary confinement. In the summer, the cells were ovens, with no fans or air circulation. Russell's was even worse: He was in a special "punishment" cell with a solid, unvented Plexiglas door. The cells were also sewers, thanks to a design flaw in cellblock toilets that often flushed excrement from one cell into the next. Prisoners were allowed outside -- to pace or sit alone in metal cages -- just two or three times a week. Inside was a perpetual dusk: One always-on light fixture provided inadequate light for reading but enough light to make it hard to sleep. Read more...
GPS anklets keep paroled gang members in check
A self-described former gang member in a silver and black Bo Jackson Raiders jersey and Nike high tops strutted into an Oakland parole office Thursday morning to get a new GPS unit strapped around his ankle.
Sergio, 43, said he wasn't happy to represent one of the new frontiers of state corrections. The anklet he has worn 24 hours a day for the past two months, he said, made him feel like a dog on a leash. Read more...
Sergio, 43, said he wasn't happy to represent one of the new frontiers of state corrections. The anklet he has worn 24 hours a day for the past two months, he said, made him feel like a dog on a leash. Read more...
Monday, August 2, 2010
APAI Committees
The Professional Development Committee is seeking APAI members to serve on the committee (See APAI By Laws Article VI sub section 6.1f ). The Standards Committee is also seeking APAI Members to serve on the committee (See APAI By Laws Article VI sub section 6.1h). Members who are interested should send an e-mail their respective Regional/Sectional Vice Presidents, (Article IV of By Laws for the regions/section a state is a member), who will be in contact with the appropriate committee Chair to include the members as part of the committee. For more information on what Region/Section you are in and who your Regional/Section Vice President, go HERE!
The sites selected for the replication research (Canadian model) on structured parole decision making were Ohio and Connecticut
National Institute of Corrections Structured Parole Decision Making Project (Canadian model) Site Solicitation
Goals
A primary goal of this initiative is to advance evidence-based parole decision making research in the United States. The National Institute of Corrections (NIC), Carlton University and the Association of Paroling Authorities International (APAI) are seeking 2 sites who might wish to embark on a collaboration to replicate research conducted in Canada regarding structured parole decision making.
Background material (literature review, user manual) will be provided to the parole agency staff prior to the site visit. Two investigators from Carleton University will travel to the site and provide a workshop and training regarding the application of the Structured Decision Framework. The training will also address contemporary risk assessment issues and implications for establishing parole conditions. The researchers will ensure inter-rater reliability prior to commencing data collection. Procedures for sharing the data will be finalized at the time of the site visit (either worksheets without identifiers or an electronic data file). A report regarding the findings (comparing the accuracy of existing decision strategies with the Structured Decision Framework) will be completed for each agency. This research will also review parole decisions against a model reflecting evidence-based practice; hence, the parole agency will be in a position to evaluate the extent to which current decision procedures reflect contemporary practice. This research will also investigate the impact of training on grant rates, as well as provide preliminary findings regarding decision making competencies. Of note is that the issue of practice guidelines is different than current interest in risk assessment and recidivism and could potentially insulate an agency from criticism in the event of parole failures. A summary report will be provided to both the agency and NIC.
Each parole site will need to assign someone to review case files and co-ordinate data collection. Depending on the comprehensiveness of file information, it is expected this individual could do 4 cases per day (more if file information is limited). If we aim for 100-120 cases, this is 6 weeks over 12 months. The university researchers will complete all the training, conduct the statistical analyses and provide a written report.
The Framework
This is a structured professional judgement model that requires a systematic review of empirically relevant factors (i.e., criminal history, institutional adjustment, correctional programming, release plan), grounded by a valid risk assessment estimate and a consideration of policy requirements. This review provides an outline for decision makers when writing a rationale for their decisions. The framework does not provide an actual decision rather it is an empirically-informed decision guide. Research has demonstrated that using the framework increases both accuracy and accountability. In one study of sensational parole failures, application of the framework would have reduced such failures by 42%. Based on such findings, and its empirical derivation, the framework is a training standard for newly appointed parole board members in Canada.
Site Requirements for NIC Structured Parole Decision Making Study
These requirements describe the scope and information necessary for this project to be successful. Not all interested sites may meet all requirements but this will not eliminate them from consideration.
1.Decision making context: Decisions should be made by the paroling authority regarding timing of release as well as conditions upon release. These decisions should be compiled in a registry.
2.Decision registry and database: There should be a registry of decisions and assigned conditions. Where possible the decision would include a rationale. There should be a database, preferably electronic, of these decisions and outcomes for at least 12 months post-release. Outcomes should include multiple indices such as technical violations and new offences.
3.Staff: Part of the project involves training regarding Evidence-Based Practice and Parole for paroling authority staff, so a level of organizational readiness is expected. As well, a staff member will need to be assigned so that they may be trained on the Structured Decision Framework for its application to 120 case files.
Deadline for Applications: Friday July 9, 2010.
Questions: see pdf or contact Ralph Serin at ralph_serin@carleton.ca
The National Parole Resource Center (NPRC) Announces and Invites Applications from Paroling Authorities and their Supervision Agency Partners To Participate as NPRC "Learning Sites"
This solicitation invites U.S. state paroling/releasing authorities to apply to become one of four states participating in the first major technical assistance effort of the newly-established, Bureau of Justice Assistance-sponsored National Parole Resource Center (NPRC). All four sites will receive technical assistance and training geared toward enhancing their capacity for effective decisionmaking policy and practice. The NPRC Learning Sites initiatives is designed to support participating sites as they strengthen their decisionmaking and supervision practices, and to generate lessons and insights that will be shared widely with other jurisdictions through the NPRC web site and continuing training and technical assistance. Available resources will allow the NPRC to provide two of the four states with expanded training and technical assistance to address the state’s parole supervision function and to move toward implementation of 13 Strategies for Effective Parole Supervision (more information about the 13 Strategies for Effective Parole Supervision).
The application deadline for this initiative is Monday, June 21, 2010. Assistance is scheduled to begin in August, 2010. The full solicitation can be downloaded from their website.
The application deadline for this initiative is Monday, June 21, 2010. Assistance is scheduled to begin in August, 2010. The full solicitation can be downloaded from their website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)