Issue: Innovation Case Studies

Case studies prepared by the Urban Institute show how small-scale innovations in policy and practice are helping to reduce reliance on jail incarceration across the Safety and Justice Challenge Network.

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Implementation Guide

Interagency Collaboration Pretrial and Bail Women in Jail October 12, 2018

Case Study: Implementing Alternatives to Incarceration for Women in Rural Communities

Urban Institute

This case study examines how Campbell County, a rural community in Tennessee, designed and launched the Women In Need Diversion (WIND) program to address the particular needs of women in jail. Drawing on direct program observation and in-person interviews with WIND stakeholders, this case study looks at design and implementation of the program and its early outcomes. The study also highlights lessons for other rural communities, including the importance of relationship building, collaboration across local agencies, nonprofit organizations, and faith communities, and assessment tools to build knowledge about served populations and overall system capacity.

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Implementation Guide

Human Toll of Jail Presumption of Innocence Pretrial and Bail October 12, 2018

Case Study: Supporting Individual Agency in the Pretrial Release Process

Urban Institute

This case study presents the experiences of two counties as they implemented communication strategies focused on engaging pretrial detainees in securing optimal pretrial release and successfully navigating the pretrial release period. Durham County sought to remind anyone released before trial about their court dates by signing them up for a user-friendly web-based service. The share of people who failed to appear in court dropped 6 percentage points from September 2017 to May 2018. Santa Clara County executed a multimedia campaign to inform detainees about nonmonetary release options and reduce overreliance on money bail. The number of non-monetary releases increased and monetary bail releases declined, although this could be due to other reforms. Durham and Santa Clara counties developed effective messages, sought the input of defendants and family members, and used multiple avenues to reach the intended audience.

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Implementation Guide

Data Analysis Interagency Collaboration Pretrial and Bail October 12, 2018

Case Study: Developing Data Dashboards to Drive Criminal Justice Decisions

Urban Institute

Jurisdictions across the country are seeking ways to better understand their justice-involved populations and guide their decisions with data. This case study examines the experiences of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and the City and County of San Francisco, California in integrating real-time data across criminal justice decision points and other non-justice systems to inform decisionmaking.  With the increased interest in using dashboards across the country, practitioners interested in implementing similar efforts can take several lessons from Allegheny County and the City and County of San Francisco’s experiences, including the importance of collaboration and continuous communication throughout the process, building a strong analytic capacity and ongoing relationship with IT, and the importance of automated, real-time data.

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Data Analysis Interagency Collaboration Jail Populations April 12, 2016

Public Opinion Poll Findings on Jails and Local Justice Systems

RTI International and Zogby Analytics

A new nationwide poll on perceptions of jails and local criminal justice systems reveals that the majority of Americans believe the role of jails should not be to punish, and shows broad support for treatment and rehabilitation—particularly for people committing non-violent offenses and for those with serious mental illness. The poll was conducted by RTI International and Zogby Analytics, and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

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Data Analysis Jail Populations Pretrial and Bail May 4, 2015

Rational and Transparent Bail Decisionmaking

Pretrial Justice Institute

Money-based bail systems do not do the job they’re supposed to do—protecting the safety of the community while the defendant’s case is pending, and assuring the appearance of the defendant in court. Instead, the practice of using money to decide pretrial release has wasted taxpayer dollars and played a significant role in contributing to the mass incarceration. This white paper outlines the problems surrounding the current cash-based bail bond process and documents current successful models for moving toward a risk-based bail process.