What we're reading
Associated Press
Study: Jail populations dropped, rose slightly in pandemic
02/09/2021
Jail populations across the U.S. dropped by nearly a quarter at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, before rising slightly again in the heat of the summer.
The Crime Report
Jail Populations Drop 18% in ‘Safety and Justice Challenge’ Sites Over 3 Years
02/09/2021
The average daily population in jails identified as pilot sites for reducing inmate numbers declined by 18 percent in the first three years of the program, according to a report released Tuesday by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. People of color, however, continued to be overrepresented in the jail population, the report found.
The Atlantic
They Called For Help. They’d Always Regret It.
01/30/2021
Two families called 911 to get help for their sons. They didn’t know that they’d be thrusting them into a complex and often brutal system.
Washington Post
Op-ed: Five myths about criminal justice
11/25/2020
Being “tough” on crime doesn’t always make sense.
ABA Journal
Bail reform in this county didn’t have any impact on new criminal activity, new study says
11/24/2020
The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation's 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.
The Crime Report
Chicago Bail Reform Didn’t Increase Crime
11/20/2020
As violent crime in Chicago has been rising, police have pointed to people being freed on bail as a driving factor in the growing number of shootings.
The Appeal
Report Finds Bail Reform in Chicago Reduced Pretrial Incarceration Without Hurting Public Safety
11/19/2020
A growing body of evidence suggests that it’s possible to reduce or even eliminate the use of money bail without increasing crime.
The Crime report
Declining Jail Population Endangered by Court Delays During Pandemic
10/27/2020
The COVID-19 outbreak is putting an enormous strain on our entire criminal justice system. But as concerns grow about the impact on those held behind bars, the plight of another group of individuals should not be overlooked.
Route Fifty
Plea Bargaining Needs to be More Transparent, Report Argues
09/24/2020
Widespread plea bargaining in the criminal justice system may be fueling racial inequities and leading innocent people to plead guilty, says a new report from the Vera Institute of Justice.