Justice Strategies

By Getahn Ward • The Tennessean • June 25, 2010

Eight Corrections Corporation of America detention centers that house asylum seekers and immigrants awaiting deportation may be line for makeovers to create a less prison-like feel.

The move by Nashville-based CCA to spruce up eight facilities – half of them in California and Texas – drew sharp reactions from both sides of the debate over U.S. immigration policies.

Read the full article here.

A new Christian Science Monitor article cites Justice Strategies’ research on the federal immigration act, 287(g), which may have served as a precursor to the widely denounced Arizona immigration law. “Democracy on Ice” is an in-depth investigation of the 287(g) program, which deputizes state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws. Aarti Shahani is quoted in the article as concluding that “the 287(g) program has failed.… It has harmed, not served our public safety.”

New Jersey and a few other states have shown the way.

By Marc Mauer and Judith Greene

A new report by the Pew Center on the States shows that while the national prison population declined last year for the first time in 38 years, Pennsylvania's number of inmates increased more than any other state's. Unless policymakers address the factors contributing to these figures, the state risks continued high incarceration costs, which will come at the expense of education and other services.

Many state governments continued last year to reduce their prison populations through sentencing reforms enacted because of shrinking state budgets, according to two reports released Wednesday by a research group that advocates for lower rates of imprisonment.

In 2009, at least 19 states adopted criminal justice policies intended to cut down on the number of prisoners they house by shortening sentences, according to the Sentencing Project. For example, Minnesota, New York and Rhode Island each scaled back mandatory sentencing laws for some drug offenses.

As state lawmakers decide whether to reinstate "good-time" credits for prisoners, studies by a national organization show the state has lowered its prison population while maintaining public safety.

The Sentencing Project said the reports showed a successful trend toward sentencing reform and reduced imprisonment to cut costs.

According to two new reports, Michigan leads the country in safely releasing prisoners back into society. The two studies were conducted nationally by Justice Strategies, and the Sentencing Project. Both companies advocate for criminal justice reform. Their findings were released Wednesday by the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency. According to the organization the numbers show Michigan has done well in downsizing its prison system.

As states grapple with the fiscal crisis and confront costly and overburdened criminal justice systems, two reports released Wednesday by The Sentencing Project offer roadmaps to successful prison downsizing that maintain public safety.

The reports document a growing trend to reform sentencing policies and scale back the use of imprisonment in order to control spending.

Section 287(g) of Federal Immigration Law allowed Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies to train with federal ICE agents in detecting and arresting illegal immigrants.

"These 287(g) officers aren't making us any safer, claims Bob McWhirter, "They're spending most of their time chasing after gardeners and dishwashers - people without criminal records."

A non-profit research group called Justice Strategies says the 287(g) program has "corrupted" criminal justice and is a misuse of funds. The group also calls for a federal investigation.

Watch the video at azfamily.com.

A federal program that empowers local police to enforce U.S. immigration laws has failed in its promise to target illegal immigrants who pose a threat to public safety or national security, according to a study released today.

Instead of focusing on serious criminals, local law enforcement officers are arresting "day laborers, street vendors, people who are driving around with broken taillights," said Judith Greene, coauthor of the study by Justice Strategies, a New York-based nonprofit research organization focusing on humane and cost- effective approaches to criminal justice and immigration law enforcement.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's continuing and controversial crackdown on illegal immigration and the federal program that lets him identify and arrest undocumented immigrants is a financial and public-safety failure, according to a new report.