What we're reading
The Economist
The virus should speed efforts to shrink America’s prison population
03/26/2020
Two million Americans are behind bars. Covid-19 may bring some long-overdue change.
The Crime Report
Are Pretrial Risk Assessments Biased? The Debate Sharpens
02/18/2020
Letter to the Editor Submissions
The Appeal
New Data Suggests Risk Assessment Tools Have Little Impact On Pretrial Incarceration
02/07/2020
Around one-third of counties in the United States use the tools when making release decisions, but few monitor whether they work as intended.
The Crime Report
Is Ending Pretrial Detention a Better Alternative to Bail Than Risk Assessment?
12/13/2019
The spreading use of algorithms to determine whether to detain individuals before trial has increasingly come under fire from civil rights advocates. A paper commissioned by the Safety and Justice Challenge offers an alternative vision designed to measure individuals’ chances of success in staying out of trouble rather than their risk of failure.
CityLab
Why Smaller Cities Are Expanding Their Jails, and Their Populations
12/09/2019
While many cities are using incarceration alternatives, some smaller cities and rural areas are building—and filling—costly new jails, new research shows.
Washington Post
LTE: Prosecutors should address the issues underlying crimes
12/06/2019
Letter to the Editor Submissions
New York Times
LTE: Don’t Give Up on Criminal Justice Reform
12/01/2019
Philanthropies cite a false choice between justice and safety, and the positive effects of cash bail reform.
Route Fifty
Rural Communities Look to Jails for Revenue
11/27/2019
A new report found that rural areas are increasingly renting out jail beds to places with overcrowded facilities in an effort to bring in more revenue.