New Victimization Survey, Prison Oversight Model for States & More

"The argument that violent crime skyrocketed in 2022 and 2023 requires one to argue that violent crime was at the lowest level since the 60s and 70s in 2020 and 2021..." 
 
The Bureau of Justice Statistics released its annual National Crime Victimization Survey yesterday, which estimates violent crime victimizations and rates, and violent crimes reported and not reported to police. According to the survey, violent crime declined slightly in 2023. On his substack today, Jeff Asher delves deeper into the report.
 
"In addition to creating independent oversight, Georgia also must think strategically about how to prevent and reduce overcrowding in state and local facilities."
 
In a new op-ed, Faith and Freedom’s Tim Head and CPAC’s Frank Russo argue that Georgia’s troubled prison system needs better oversight and accountability. Georgia's prisons are in crisis, with 172 deaths reported in just the first seven months of 2024, as well as severe understaffing that leaves as few as 15 officers to guard 1,500 incarcerated individuals. Rather than pursue plans to expand facilities, they argue that the state should instead look to the Federal Prison Oversight Act as a model for bringing transparency and oversight that would improve conditions and efficiency in Georgia. 
 
"We found no statistically significant relationship between bail reforms and trends in crime generally or violent crime specifically. In other words, there is no clear evidence that bail reform had any effect on whether crime rose or fell in the cities we studied."
 
A new study from the Brennan Center builds on a large body of evidence that shows there is no single reason why crime increases or decreases, and this also applies to bail reform. Data on crime rates in 33 cities around the country from 2015 through 2021 show no relationship between bail reform policies and crime, but they do show that cash bail is a source of racial disparities within the criminal justice system. 
 
"By addressing the underlying causes of crime, employing evidence and involving communities, we can create safer, more secure environments for everyone."
 
Despite crime rates falling to pre-pandemic levels, 79 percent of Americans worry about crime and safety, according to a recent Gallup poll, and the majority don't think our justice system is tough enough. As those numbers drive crime to the forefront of the Presidential election, it's more important than ever that candidates get their policy responses right, argues the Urban Institute. Data-driven policies that work, like those piloted in Philadelphia and Baltimore, should be part of any serious strategy to make cities safer. 

"You can slap a coat of paint on it, but if you don't change the inside, it's still going to become the same."
 
This week, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the state will attempt to shut its three largest youth correctional facilities in favor of building smaller and less centralized units, following recommendations from a working group put together by his office. The move comes as seemingly constant changes to juvenile justice centers are being made across the country. In places as culturally, politically, and demographically different as Los Angeles and Wisconsin, policymakers have looked to change where and how young people are being detained in an effort to counter abuses and inefficacies. None have been particularly successful. Staffing, experts and advocates argue, is the real problem.