Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management

"[T]he benefits of the limited pretrial reforms were not distributed equally: new research from the Roundtable on Racial Disparities in Massachusetts Criminal Courts, a project of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management of the Harvard Kennedy School Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, provides suggestive evidence that white people have been the biggest, and nearly only, beneficiaries of the limited pretrial reforms adopted since 2017. As the jail population fell statewide, that decrease was almost entirely among white defendants.  To better understand why this happened, we examined two sources of pretrial detention: cash bail and prosecutors’ requests to hold people without bail because they are alleged to be too dangerous to release pretrial. We found that racial disparities continue to pervade pretrial detention and release decision-making, even controlling for factors like the severity of criminal charges and whether the criminal accusation carries a potential penalty of a mandatory minimum sentence."

In this video, Sandra Susan Smith, the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice and Faculty Director of the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management, explores President Donald Trump’s policies on crime, policing, and the deployment of the National Guard in cities like D.C, Chicago and Los Angeles. Professor Smith breaks down the social and political context behind these policies, discussing their potential impacts on communities, law enforcement, and public safety. https://lnkd.in/ewSWcXg8

Massachusetts legislation designed to remove the “wealth barrier” for cash bail is working, but not for everyone: New research by the Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management found pretrial detention rates of white people declined by 40%, compared to just 3% for people of color https://ken.sc/497cgZV

Join us this week to welcome Azadeh Shahshahani and Raqib Hameed Naik for the next event in our fall speaker series, Criminal Law as a Tool of Authoritarian Control. "Counterterrorism and the Targeting of Political Opponents" Wednesday, November 19 at 4:30pm EST Register on Zoom: https://lnkd.in/eU_xb8Nk Our speakers will describe their work with community-based legal and policy organizations to examine the far-reaching role of “counterterrorism” in political suppression of marginalized people and social justice movements—in particular, the prosecution of protestors and dismantling of bail support in the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta, GA; the targeting of Muslim and Palestinian organizers by the U.S. and Israel; and the targeting of Muslim organizers and human rights organizations in Kashmir. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e3nPXc7i

Important though disappointing findings from Katy Naples-Mitchell and colleagues at HKS--bail reform's benefits in Massachusetts have been extremely racially skewed: "we found that white people were the biggest, and nearly only, beneficiaries of pretrial reform over the last seven years, with a dramatic 40% drop in the population of white people in jail." Check out the article and report for more on why this is happening and what to do about it.

"State legislation designed to remove the 'wealth barrier' for cash bail is working, but not for people of color" via Harvard Kennedy School "Seeing data that showed the jail population in MA has fallen since 2017, but almost exclusively among white people, the authors wanted to find the reasons why. 'We wanted to study whether efforts to consider one’s ability to pay in setting bail and to shrink pretrial detention in Massachusetts reduced racial disparities and how to design a system less likely to produce such glaring racial disparities and significant harms,' said Naples-Mitchell." . . . "'The reforms we examined should have resulted in cash bail being set less often in favor of more releases, with the biggest effect on low-income communities of color,' noted Naples-Mitchell. 'But instead, we found that white people were the biggest, and nearly only, beneficiaries of pretrial reform over the last seven years, with a dramatic 40% drop in the population of white people in jail.'”  Read the full article about our latest #HKSRoundtable report: https://lnkd.in/eTnGnW3U

NEW: Check out our latest report from the Harvard Kennedy School #HKSRoundtable on Racial Disparities in Massachusetts Criminal Courts: "Understanding Racial Disparities in the Massachusetts Pretrial System" Our research provides suggestive evidence that White people have been the biggest, and nearly only, beneficiaries of the limited pretrial reforms adopted since 2017 in Massachusetts. We find that as reforms were implemented, the number and proportion of White people in the Commonwealth’s jails declined dramatically by 40%. At the same time, the number of Black people in jail declined very slightly (by about 3%), and the number of Hispanic people in jail increased by about 5.5% (adjusted for a data quality issue described in the report). To better understand why this happened, we examined two prominent sources of pretrial detention using data from the Massachusetts Trial Court: cash bail and prosecutors’ requests to hold people without bail on alleged dangerousness. We find that racial disparities continue to pervade pretrial detention and release decision-making in these categories, even controlling for factors like the severity of criminal charges and whether the criminal accusation carries a potential penalty of a mandatory minimum sentence. We also find gaps and inconsistencies in available data about criminal system decision points. For example, a 2016 study by the Council on State Governments Justice Center identified pretrial holds (including outstanding warrants, probation detainers, and bail revocation) as larger sources of pretrial detention than dangerousness findings. The state, however, does not presently produce datasets on these sources of pretrial detention. These gaps in knowledge should not prevent the adoption of evidence-based reforms that have begun to percolate across the country. Studies of cash bail reforms in states like Texas, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey show that curtailing the use of cash bail has net positive outcomes, including fiscal and public safety benefits as well as benefits for affected families. To that end, this research brief ends with a series of policy recommendations: 1. Eliminate cash bail for some or all cases or for certain categories of offenses.    2. Prohibit the use of unaffordable bail as a mechanism of detention to ensure return to court.    3. Automatically review bail amounts for everyone who remains stuck in jail 24 hours after their bail is set.    4. Improve the current system of after-hours bail assessment, including by replacing the bail magistrate system with a judge rotation schedule.   5. Study and reform other sources of pretrial detention. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eGssM6uW

UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, this talk has been postponed by ONE WEEK! New date: September 24 at 4:30 PM ET. Hope to see you then! _ _ Join us on Wed., Sept 24th [new date] to kick off our Fall 2025 Speaker Series, "Criminal Law as a Tool of Authoritarian Control." This series will explore the relationship between criminalization, criminal punishment bureaucracies, and authoritarian control. We’ll explore questions about the preconditions of authoritarianism, and how authoritarian regimes use narratives of crime and punishment, as well enforcement of criminal or quasi-criminal violations, to target marginalized groups and punish dissent. All events in this series will be open to the public on Zoom. "The Popularity of Punishment" Yanilda María González of Harvard Kennedy School 9/24, 4:30-5:45 PM on Zoom https://lnkd.in/eQbQB77V Drawing from her book, her prior publications, and forthcoming research on repression of marginalized groups in Brazil, Professor Yanilda González will join us to discuss comparative perspectives on how authoritarian regimes, and authoritarian institutions within democratic regimes, build or exploit support for punishment in order to concentrate their own power. Register for the series here: https://lnkd.in/ea-ra_pv

We must challenge the false narrative that crime is increasing in DC. “Youth crime is at a historical low. Fewer young people were arrested last summer than in any of the last forty non-pandemic years, and given the declines in crime seen this year, that will probably go down again in 2025.” -@FWDus We know what works to keep us safe. If we want our nation’s capital to thrive we need to invest in safe and effective public safety strategies, not return to the failed policies of the past. Read the full story from Truthout here: https://lnkd.in/ghNE-WKi

In recent days, money bond has reemerged as a topic in public discussions of bail, and there is some confusion about how and why it is used. Historically, money has been used for two purposes: First, judges use money as a condition of pretrial release. They set an amount of money that the person is supposed to afford and then be released. The theory is—a flawed one, as it turns out—it's an incentive to come back to court.   Second, judges use money bond as a means to detain someone. The judge sets a high amount with the expectation that the person won’t be able to pay, and they’ll remain in jail.   We’ve known for a long time that money isn’t effective at either of these two purposes.   As a condition of release, multiple studies show money isn’t an incentive to appear in court. Court date reminders are much more effective. As a way to detain people, we also know that money doesn’t work. Setting a high bond isn’t a guarantee that the person will be detained. Meanwhile, countless people sit in jail on lower bonds they cannot afford.   The good news is that we know what to do. Illinois is the most recent example and shows that money is not needed. We can create a rational legal framework that upholds the presumption of innocence, and where detention is used only when there is clear and convincing evidence that it is required for community safety. A growing body of research confirms that these approaches to advancing pretrial justice are not correlated with changes in crime rates.    https://lnkd.in/g8wCiEX7 #bailreform #endcashbail #pretrialjustice