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Prison Reform

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Conditions inside prisons and the quality of services provided to prisoners can significantly impact outcomes for the incarcerated population and the wider community. RAND research has considered the quality of health care provided in California's prisons, has analyzed the impact of correctional education on employment outcomes for prisoners, and is evaluating the world's first Social Impact Bond funding model for prison services.

Report

An Alternative Future for the Corrections Sector

Oct 26, 2017

Experts agree that the main role of the U.S. corrections sector should be to help improve offenders' behavior. Better staff training, the elimination of operations that generate revenue, and a cultural shift to prioritize rehabilitation over punishment could help.
Content

The Impact of Correctional Education

Nov 10, 2015

Policymakers are considering how to reduce mass incarceration in the United States. Correctional education programs can help reduce recidivism and improve post-release employment outcomes. This saves taxpayers money.

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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
Journal Article

Does Providing Inmates with Education Improve Postrelease Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis of Correctional Education Programs in the United States

Meta-analysis demonstrates the potential value in providing inmates with educational opportunities while they serve their sentences.

Jul 3, 2018
Journal Article

Managing Officer Behavioural Risk Using Early Intervention Systems: Addressing System Design Challenges for Law Enforcement and Corrections Environments

The goal of EIS is to provide the opportunity to identify and intervene for officers that are showing signs of problematic behaviour or performance. In the project described here, we demonstrated expansion of the EIS concept to a corrections context.

Nov 7, 2017
News Release

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Report

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Commentary

UK Prisons Are in 'Crisis,' So What Can Be Done to Improve Performance?

Prisons in the UK are experiencing record numbers of suicides and other violent incidents, as well as staff shortages. Policymakers working on prison reform need more effective ways to measure the performance of prison programs.

Feb 20, 2017
Commentary

Support for Postsecondary Education in Prison

Correctional educational programs can reduce incarceration costs and recidivism. But it's critical that former inmates can connect with reentry services in the community to complete their education.

Dec 15, 2016
Journal Article

A National Picture of Prison Downsizing Strategies

This study provides an overview of national prison downsizing strategies.

Feb 26, 2016
Project

Evaluating the World's First Social Impact Bond

A process evaluation of a new funding mechanism implemented at a prison in the east of England, whereby private investors covered the costs of delivering public services to offenders on release from prison, provides evidence and key lessons on the operation of social impact bonds.

Dec 18, 2015
Commentary

Obama Commutes Sentences of 46 Drug Offenders. Now for the Hard Part

Last month, President Obama commuted more sentences in a single day than any president since Lyndon Johnson. But commutation doesn't erase a criminal conviction.

Aug 10, 2015
Blog

The 2015 Summer Reading List for Congress

With Capitol Hill slowing for August recess, this list of must-read research and commentaries will help ensure that policymakers are ready to dive right back in this fall.

Aug 5, 2015
Report

Public Safety Realignment in Twelve California Counties

California legislation grants flexibility to counties in implementing public safety realignment. This report determines whether counties continued and expanded existing practices or took the opportunity to change correctional business as usual.

Jun 29, 2015
Commentary

Could You Lose Your License to Drink?

Criminal justice reform requires creating demand for bold ideas about simultaneously reducing incarceration and crime. Given the prominent role alcohol plays in crime — and the strong results from South Dakota's 24/7 Sobriety program — suspending one's “license to drink” seems well worth considering.

Jun 23, 2015
Commentary

Using Education to Stop the Prison Revolving Door

Providing education and vocational training to inmates is a cost-effective way to reduce recidivism rates, thus shrinking prison populations and easing the strain on prison budgets. Education is far less expensive than incarceration.

Sep 30, 2014
Multimedia

Commencement Weekend Policy Dialogue on Criminal Justice

In this podcast, recorded during the Pardee RAND Graduate School’s 2014 commencement weekend, Susan L. Marquis, the school’s dean, moderates a policy discussion on criminal justice with a panel of experts.

Jun 20, 2014
Infographic

Correctional Education Can Make a Difference

Inmates who participate in any kind of educational program behind bars are up to 43 percent less likely to reoffend and return to prison. They also are more likely to find a job, and the social stability that comes with it, after their release. Every dollar invested in correctional education saves nearly five in reincarceration costs over three years.

May 22, 2014
Commentary

Sending Prisoners to College Will Save You Money

Correctional education works for states because it saves money and shrinks prison populations. It works for prisoners, the public, law enforcement, and the judicial system because educated prisoners are less likely to return to their criminal ways once released.

Apr 11, 2014
Periodical

RAND Review Examines Immigration, Defense Policies, the ACA, and Correctional Education

Stories in RAND's flagship journal discuss U.S. and Mexican immigration and labor reforms; British, French, and German defense policies in the face of austerity; seven ramifications of the Affordable Care Act; and the cost-effectiveness of correctional education programs.

Nov 26, 2013
Commentary

To Stop Prisons' Revolving Door

If California wants to reduce its prison population, it needs to address recidivism, and the best way to do this is through education and job training. Cutting education and vocational training may seem like a tempting way to plug short-term budget gaps, but it actually ends up costing the system more over time.

Sep 16, 2013

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