A Framework for Evidence-Based Decision Making in State and Local Criminal Justice Systems (“EBDM Framework”)
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A Framework for Evidence- Based Decision Making in State and Local Criminal Justice Systems An Initiative of the National Institute of Corrections Fourth Edition A Continued Work in Progress A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT AMONG THE CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICY AND THE CAREY GROUP June 2017 © Center for Effective Public Policy This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 12CS15GKM2 awarded by the National Institute of Corrections. The National Institute of Corrections is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. © 2017 Center for Effective Public Policy. The National Institute of Corrections reserves the right to reproduce, publish, translate, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to publish and use, all or any part of the copyrighted material contained in this publication. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction to the 4th Edition................................................................................................ 1 Foreword to the 3rd Edition .................................................................................................... 3 Preface: The Evidence-Based Decision Making in State and Local Criminal Justice Systems Initiative ................................................................................................................................ 5 Initiative Approach and Products .............................................................................................................. 5 Section 1: A New Paradigm for the Justice System .................................................................. 6 Why a New Paradigm? ............................................................................................................................... 6 The Justice System Can Do Better ............................................................................................................. 7 Other Systems Have Made Progress; So Too Can the Justice System ....................................................... 8 The 100,000 Lives Campaign ..................................................................................................................... 8 Calling on the “Best in People”: The 1 Million Fewer Victims Campaign .................................................. 9 Making the Comparison Between Healthcare and Justice System Reform ............................................ 10 An Overview of Key Research Findings Related to Risk Reduction and Their Implications for the Justice System .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Distinguishing Between EBP and EBDM .................................................................................................. 12 7 Ways to Reduce Recidivism .................................................................................................................. 13 Section 2: Underlying Premises ............................................................................................ 17 The Core Values of the Justice System .................................................................................................... 17 Section 3: The Key Decision Points, Decision Makers, and Stakeholders in the Criminal Justice System ..................................................................................................................... 19 Key Decision Points .................................................................................................................................. 19 Key Decision Makers and Stakeholder Groups at the State Level ........................................................... 20 Key Decision Makers and Stakeholder Groups at the Local Level ........................................................... 21 Section 4: Examining Justice System Decision Making Through the Lens of Harm Reduction . 22 Crime Harms the Entire Community ........................................................................................................ 22 The Justice System Strives to Achieve Risk and Crime Reduction ........................................................... 22 The Justice System Can Result in Harm Reduction .................................................................................. 23 Achieving, Measuring, and Maintaining Harm Reduction and Advancing Community Wellness ........... 24 Section 5: The Principles Underlying the Framework ............................................................ 28 Principle One: The professional judgment of criminal justice system decision makers is enhanced when informed by evidence-based knowledge....................................................................................... 28 Principle Two: Every interaction within the criminal justice system offers an opportunity to contribute to harm reduction .................................................................................................................. 29 Principle Three: Systems achieve better outcomes when they operate collaboratively ........................ 30 Principle Four: The criminal justice system will continually learn and improve when professionals make decisions based on the collection, analysis, and use of data and information ............................. 31 Section 6: Applying Evidence-Based Principles to Practice .................................................... 33 A Logic Model for Harm Reduction Decision Making at the System Level.............................................. 33 Evidence-Based Decision Making System-Level Implementation Steps ................................................. 34 Section 7: Key Challenges in Implementing This Framework ................................................. 39 Risk Reduction and Evidence-Based Decision Making in the Context of Sanctioning Purpose .............. 39 Plea Negotiations ..................................................................................................................................... 40 The Management of Low Level Offenses ................................................................................................ 41 Looking to the Future .............................................................................................................................. 42 Section 8: Collaboration: A Key Ingredient of an Evidence-Based System .............................. 43 Aligning the Criminal Justice System to Achieve Harm Reduction .......................................................... 43 Bringing the Stakeholders to the Table to Form Policy Teams ................................................................ 43 Section 9: Building Evidence-Based Agencies ........................................................................ 45 Aligning Criminal Justice Agencies to Achieve Harm Reduction ............................................................. 45 Making “What Works” Work ................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix 1: Advisory Board Members: Evidence-Based Decision Making in Local Criminal Justice Systems Initiative ..................................................................................................... 47 Appendix 2: Advisors for Evidence-Based Decision Making in State and Local Criminal Justice Systems Initiative ................................................................................................................ 48 Appendix 3: Methodology Used to Compute 1 Million Fewer Victims ................................... 49 2.4 Million Justice System Employees ..................................................................................................... 49 Appendix 4: Research Findings Matrix .................................................................................. 50 What Doesn’t Work in Reducing Pretrial Misbehavior and Offender Recidivism ................................... 52 What Works in Reducing Pretrial Misbehavior and Offender Recidivism ............................................... 57 What’s Promising in Reducing Pretrial Misbehavior and Offender Recidivism ...................................... 76 What’s Not Clear in Reducing Pretrial Misbehavior and Offender Recidivism ....................................... 98 Appendix 5: Using Evidence to Inform Decision Making ...................................................... 101 Appendix 6: 2009 Zogby International Public Opinion Survey ............................................. 102 Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 103 References ........................................................................................................................ 104 Additional EBDM Resources ............................................................................................... 125 Exhibits Exhibit 1: Reducing Crime with Evidence-Based Options: Benefits & Costs ........................................... 25 Exhibit 2: Example of an EBDM Process Logic Model .............................................................................. 36 Exhibit 3: Example of a Portion of an EBDM Local-Level Logic Model (Risk Assessment) ...................... 37 Exhibit 4: Example of a Portion of an EBDM State-Level Logic Model (Pretrial) ....................................