The SJC Research Consortium, administered by the Institute for State and Local Governance, supports research and evaluations that delve further into the impacts of targeted reforms on jail, racial equity, and public safety trends. These projects produce research findings relevant to changing the use of jails from the Safety and Justice Challenge and disseminate them to reform-minded jurisdictions across the country.
Prosecutorial Discretion in Plea Bargaining
As we have come to reckon with our nation’s overreliance on carceral punishment and the mass incarceration of people of color, particularly Black people, experts are turning to a key system point that is the primary method for resolving most criminal cases: plea bargaining. Although plea bargaining is widely used, little is known about the practice, largely because it happens outside of public view and with little documented by the key actors involved –prosecutors. To better understand prosecutorial discretion during plea bargaining, Urban was funded through the SJC Research Consortium to conduct an exploratory study on plea bargaining policies, practices, and outcomes in Philadelphia.
Examining the Impacts of Probation Violation Strategies on Jail Reduction Efforts
Probation violations have been found to contribute significantly to rising jail populations across the United States. Housing instability, which is known to heighten the risk of criminal legal system involvement, can increase the risk of incarceration among people on probation because maintaining a valid address for tracking purposes is often a standard condition of probation. In this light, Pima County, Arizona, has implemented multiple reforms to address probation-related drivers of jail incarceration through its participation in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, including strengthening transitional housing support intended to provide short-term housing options for people experiencing housing instability. The Urban Institute conducted a study, in partnership with the Pima County Adult Probation Department, to describe probation pathways to jail incarceration and system-level trends, as well as the effects of providing transitional housing support to people on probation, particularly in terms of jail use.
Evaluating the Implementation and Impacts of the Misdemeanor Diversion Program in Durham County
Before its Raise the Age legislation in December 2019, North Carolina was one of the few states that still automatically charged 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in its justice system. In 2013, a group of stakeholders from Durham County, North Carolina, started the Misdemeanor Diversion Program to prevent 16- and 17-year-olds from entering the justice system. The first of its kind in North Carolina, the program began in March 2014 and expanded to include people of all ages. In 2020 and 2021, Urban was funded through the consortium to conduct an in-depth process and impact evaluation of Durham County’s Misdemeanor Diversion Program. This is the first time a third-party research organization has evaluated the program’s impact, which is critical to demonstrating the program’s usefulness.