Incarceration

Featured

  • A man shakes a woman's hand at a job fair in Clarksville, Tennessee, March 6, 2020, photo by Casey Williams/Clarksville Now

    Research Brief

    A More Accurate Way to Predict Recidivism Risk in Background Checks

    Roughly 30 percent of people in the United States have criminal histories, so exclusions resulting from background checks can foreclose job and other opportunities for many. But what if it were possible to show that some people pose a low risk of recidivism?

    Jan 6, 2022

  • Camille Glinton (L) kisses her mother Luz Gonzalez at California Institute for Women state prison in Chino, California May 5, 2012. An annual Mother's Day event, Get On The Bus, brings children in California to visit their mothers in prison.

    Essay

    What Programs Can Help Parents in Prison and Their Children?

    Around 2.3 million people live in U.S. jails and prisons, and most of them are parents. What are prisons doing to help them be better parents when they get out? It's more than just a policy question—it's a social justice question.

    May 2, 2022

Explore Incarceration

  • Barbed wire fence surrounding a prison. Photo by fortton / Getty Images

    Journal Article

    Locking Up My Generation: Cohort Differences in Prison Spells Over the Life Course

    Our study highlights that the crime-punishment wave in the 1980s and 1990s created cohort differences in incarceration over the life course that changed the level of incarceration even decades after the wave.

    Oct 1, 2020

  • Candidates waiting for a job interview. A woman in a suit holds a clipboard in her lap. Photo by skynesher / Getty Images

    Journal Article

    A Policy Review of Employers' Open Access to Conviction Records

    In this review, we find that (a) US employers' use of conviction information is not clearly aligned with the risk of future criminal behavior or employer costs, and (b) using such information leads to hiring errors that pose costs to society.

    Sep 30, 2020

  • The exterior wall of a prison surrounded by barbed wire fence. Photo by eddiesimages / Getty Images

    Report

    Risk and Needs Assessments in Prisons: Identifying High-Priority Needs for Using Evidence-Based Practices

    Prison systems are underresourced and might lack the capacity to implement risk and needs assessments that reduce recidivism. A panel of experts identified ways to address and improve the use of these tools in prisons.

    Sep 9, 2020

  • A young Black boy writing at a table, photo by kali9/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Elevating Equity in Los Angeles Juvenile and Criminal Justice Reform

    At age 13, Black children are placed in juvenile detention at nearly 3.5 times the rate of white children. By age 17, that ratio increases to 4.5 to 1. And the trend continues into adulthood. Without ongoing attention and deliberate policies and programs, injustices are likely to persist.

    Aug 12, 2020

  • Multimedia

    From the Community Corrections Lens

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Veronica Cunningham and Nicole Jarrett offer their perspectives on the next steps that policymakers, practitioners, and employers can take to equalize employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records. RAND's Dionne Barnes-Proby hosts.

    Jul 29, 2020

  • Multimedia

    Practitioners’ Views on Barriers and Opportunities

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Joshua Miller, Toney L. Earl Jr., Tony Lewis Jr., and Andrew Morton discuss strategies for overcoming barriers and improving employment outcomes through reentry, community supervision, and employer-driven programs.

    Jul 22, 2020

  • A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy stands watch at Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles, California, October 3, 2012, photo by Jason Redmond/Reuters

    Commentary

    An Uncertain Future for Jail Reform in Los Angeles

    There is momentum in Los Angeles County to do the difficult work of criminal justice reform. This will take considerable investments of time and resources, as well as a commitment to implementing new strategies and evaluating their effectiveness along the way.

    Jul 21, 2020

  • Multimedia

    Certification, Background Checks, and Stigma

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, Peter Leasure, Michael Vuolo, and Naomi F. Sugie present evidence from employer and job-seeker studies on Ban-the-Box, Certificates of Relief, and background checks.

    Jul 15, 2020

  • Episode 1 of Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records

    Multimedia

    How Do People Stop Committing Crimes?

    In this Events @ RAND podcast based on the Career Prospects for People with Criminal Records Symposium held at RAND in 2019, senior policy researcher Shawn D. Bushway explains the concept of desistance, or how and when people with criminal records stop offending.

    Jul 8, 2020

  • Report

    Report

    Data-Informed Jails: Challenges and Opportunities

    Jails produce vast amounts of data because of the expanding scope of services they are expected to provide. However, most jails are not using these data to improve operations or outcomes. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.

    May 4, 2020

  • Journal Article

    Journal Article

    "Nothing Is More Opaque Than Absolute Transparency": The Use of Prior History to Guide Sentencing

    This article reviews prior literature, evaluating an algorithm used to determine prison sentencing for criminals with prior history.

    Apr 15, 2020

  • A worn-down prison block, photo by Tracy King/Adobe Stock

    Commentary

    Incarceration Rates: A Key Measure of Health in America

    There's widespread agreement that incarceration has adverse effects on health and health equity, not just for prisoners but also for families and communities. That's one important reason why incarceration in the United States needs to be reduced.

    Apr 3, 2020

  • Report

    Breaking Barriers: A Rapid Rehousing and Employment Pilot Program for Adults on Probation in Los Angeles County: Evaluation Report

    This report presents early findings on the progress of the Breaking Barriers program, which provides Los Angeles County adults on probation with a time-limited housing subsidy, case management, and employment supports.

    Mar 31, 2020

  • Tanya Beverly is part of a program that diverts people with mental illness out of the county jail and into supportive housing, photo by Diane Baldwin/RAND Corporation

    Essay

    Supportive Housing Can Help Keep People with Mental Illness Out of Jail

    Hundreds of thousands of people with serious mental illnesses cycle in and out of American jails every year. In Los Angeles, some of them are getting diverted into a supportive housing program where they can get the treatment they need. And the results are promising.

    Feb 27, 2020

  • U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his third State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., February 4, 2020, photo by Doug Mills/Pool via Reuters

    Blog

    State of the Union 2020: Insights from RAND

    The final State of the Union address of President Trump's four-year term may be viewed through the lens of the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the evening. But the speech touched on a range of policy challenges that will remain, regardless of how politics play out in 2020.

    Feb 5, 2020

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    Los Angeles County Jails Could Divert More Individuals to Community-Based Mental Health Services

    Summarizes findings of a report in which researchers estimated the percentage of individuals with mental health disorders in Los Angeles County jails who could be diverted from traditional criminal justice processing to community-based care.

    Feb 3, 2020

  • RAND Weekly Recap

    Blog

    Iran, Mental Health and Jail, Russia: RAND Weekly Recap

    This weekly recap focuses on Iran and Iraq following the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, supporting those experiencing mental illness in jails, Russia's hostile measures, and more.

    Jan 10, 2020

  • News Release

    News Release

    More Than Half of Those in Mental Health Unit at L.A. Jail Could Be Diverted to Community Programs

    More than 3,300 people in the mental health population of the Los Angeles County Jail are appropriate candidates for diversion into programs where they would receive community-based clinical services rather than incarceration.

    Jan 7, 2020

  • A woman taking a call in prison, photo by Thinkstock Images/Getty Images

    Report

    Many Detainees with Mental Illness Could Be Safely Diverted to Community Care

    In June 2019, more than 5,500 people in Los Angeles County jails were in mental health housing units and/or were taking psychotropic medications. Based on legal and clinical factors, 61 percent of these individuals were likely eligible for release into community-based treatment.

    Jan 7, 2020

  • Report

    Report

    Process Evaluation of AssetPlus

    A process evaluation of the roll-out of AssetPlus (assessment and planning framework used by youth offending teams) in England and Wales. Practitioners supported the ideas behind AssetPlus but faced challenges with easy use and information-sharing.

    Dec 18, 2019

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