By Andrzej Uhl, Justin T Pickett

Are public preferences for the type or amount of punishment stable? Instability over short periods would complicate empirical desert by undercutting the value of public preferences as policy guides. Using longitudinal, cross-national survey data from Central Europe, we examined within-person stability in punishment preferences along several dimensions: type, amount, and rank order. Individual-level instability was common; respondents frequently changed their punishment preferences across waves. In the aggregate, public opinion was more stable. Our findings support the ‘qualified public input’ model of policy making—aggregate preferences should provide loose guidance for policymakers, with individual-level instability suggesting the ‘latitude of acceptance’ or ‘zone of acquiescence’. Better-educated respondents exhibited more preference stability, thus greater weight should be given to informed public opinion.

The British Journal of Criminology, 2024, XX, 1–20 pages

By The Global Commission on Drug Policy

The Global Commission on Drug Policy’s report, Beyond Punishment: From Criminal Justice Responses to Drug Policy Reform, exposes how punitive drug policies have driven mass incarceration and grave human rights violations. In 2023 alone, over 3.1 million people were arrested for drug-related offenses, with 20% of the global prison population detained for such crimes - nearly half for simple possession.

The report underscores the devastating consequences of prohibitionist policies, including over one million overdose deaths in the U.S. in the past two decades and 40,000 in Canada in just eight years. It also highlights systemic inequities, such as Indigenous peoples in Canada being six times more likely to face drug-related arrests than white counterparts. Furthermore, the report illustrates the disproportionate burdens on women and children, deepening cycles of poverty and marginalization.

It examines the broad spectrum of criminal justice responses to drug offenses, ranging from stop-and-search practices that disproportionately target marginalized communities to extreme measures like the death penalty and enforced treatment. These approaches often violate human rights, perpetuate stigma, and fail to address the root causes of substance use.

Offering a roadmap for reform, the report advocates for evidence-based strategies, including harm reduction measures (e.g., Overdose Prevention Centers, naloxone distribution, and safer supply programs), decriminalization and the legal regulation of drug markets. These approaches not only save lives but also reduce societal harms, foster dignity, and promote health and equity.

Geneva: Global Commission on Drug Policy, 2024. 56p.

By The Correctional Association of New York

The Correctional Association of New York (CANY) is a non-profit organization, mandated by law to inspect, monitor and report on conditions in New York State (NYS) correctional facilities. CANY has repeatedly documented that across NYS incarcerated people report a lack of access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food and the systemic mechanisms to secure it. This report sheds light on key issues affecting food access and quality, and highlights opportunities to strengthen and expand existing DOCCS policies and programs to improve food and nutrition in NYS correctional facilities. The report covers three key areas: Part I: DOCCS food service. Part I of this report provides an overview and analysis of policies and practices scaffolding DOCCS menu design and planning, food production, and service. This includes an overview of the DOCCS “cook chill” food production center, based at Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York. The food production center is where most DOCCS meals are batch cooked, chilled and then shipped to the 44 DOCCS facilities to be reheated and served in the mess hall. Part I also includes analysis of both administrative and qualitative data regarding people’s experiences with food served in the mess hall. This encompasses an overview of concerns related to the quality, palatability, nutritional value, variety, and accessibility of food. Part II: Supplemental food sources and self-prepared meals. A significant number of incarcerated people reported that they either avoid the mess hall, or that mess hall meals are insufficient to meet their dietary needs. As a result of this, many people reported that they choose to prepare their own food using supplemental food sources, purchased from the commissary and/or outside vendors via the DOCCS package program. CANY consistently heard concerns about the accessibility and affordability of food in the commissary or through packages. CANY also observed that there are inconsistencies in access to cooking and food storage equipment for incarcerated people to self-prepare meals. Part II provides an overview of these challenges. Part III: DOCCS food and nutrition programming and initiatives. Part III provides an overview of current DOCCS food-related programming including Culinary Arts, Horticulture, Harvest Now, and other special events and programs which present an opportunity to increase the variety of foods available to incarcerated people. This part also highlights promising initiatives, like the recent pilot initiative launched by DOCCS to connect incarcerated people to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits up to 30-days prior to release. There is significant potential to strengthen and expand these promising initiatives to improve food and nutrition, including increasing training and certification for incarcerated people working in food service, and better integration of food programming and DOCCS food service. Based on CANY monitoring data, DOCCS’ administrative data, and research and analysis, this report makes key findings about issues affecting food access and quality in DOCCS facilities. It concludes that there are significant current and future opportunities to improve food and nutrition for people incarcerated in NYS prisons. These recommendations, if implemented, would increase meaningful access to food options that help incarcerated people thrive, improve health outcomes for an exceedingly marginalized population, and create replicable infrastructure for healthy food within other state facilities and jurisdictions.

New York: Correctional Association of New York, 2024. 61p.

By Johanna Higgs and Manith Chhoeng

In 2020, Amnesty International released a report detailing serious abuses against people held in drug rehabilitation centers and prisons in Cambodia, highlighting the severe overcrowding caused by the anti-drug campaign that began in 2017. As of March 2020, Cambodia’s prisons had an estimated capacity of 26,593, but the number of people held exceeded 38,990. Four years later, Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior reported that, as of March 2024, 45,122 people were imprisoned, with 21,644 (48%) held for drug offenses and 2,214 being minors. The General Department of Prisons' response to overcrowding has been to request the construction of new drug rehabilitation centers and prisons.

International standards, such as the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules), and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules), call for detention to be used only as a last resort and promote non-custodial measures, particularly for women and children. Organizations working in Cambodia, like IDPC partner This Life (TLC), aim to address these challenges through programs that improve outcomes for at-risk youth and families. These initiatives align with international standards, advocating for alternatives to incarceration and providing support services.

While Cambodia’s Drug Control Law (2012) gives prosecutors and courts discretion to divert drug offenders from imprisonment in favor of "voluntary" treatment programs, it has not been effectively implemented to reduce detention or imprisonment. TLC offers programs that provide vocational training and family support to juveniles in conflict with the law, aiming to reduce recidivism and promote reintegration. The organization also engages with government ministries, law enforcement, and community leaders to create holistic solutions that strengthen Cambodia's justice system and support vulnerable populations.

There are alternative measures in place for children. The Juvenile Justice Law of Cambodia, promulgated on July 14, 2016, aims to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law, supporting their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. It also provides alternatives to detention, such as diversion, probation, community service, and mediation. This law is seen as a milestone in promoting and protecting children's rights in Cambodia, aligning with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international standards. Non-governmental organizations like This Life are committed to evidence-based interventions that promote human rights, reduce inequality, and create opportunities for marginalized communities. Their work complements the goals of the Juvenile Justice Law by focusing on the rehabilitation and reintegration of youth in conflict with the law.

Amnesty International, 2024. 18p

By Nidhi Kalra, Brian G. Vegetabile, Shawn D. Bushway, and Greg Baumann

In this paper from RAND, the authors argue that the recidivism statistics cited most often in debates about the collateral consequences of criminal conviction are not appropriate to answer the questions inherent in those debates. In particular, the behaviors of criminal justice cohorts are too often mistakenly used to describe, or are entangled with descriptions of, behaviors of the overall population of people who have ever had a conviction, served time in prison, or experienced some other event in the criminal justice system. This confusion has consequences.

This paper demonstrates that the most-cited recidivism statistics often are based on criminal justice cohort samples that disproportionately contain frequent participants in the criminal justice system and, as a result, have higher recidivism rates compared with the broader population of concern.

Santa Monica, RAND, 2022, 16p.

By Margaret Love & Rob Poggenklass

At the beginning of each year since 2017, CCRC has issued a report on legislative enactments in the year just ended, new laws aimed at reducing the barriers faced by people with a criminal record in the workplace, at the ballot box, and in many other areas of daily life. These annual reports document the steady progress of what our 2020 report characterized as “a full-fledged law reform movement” aimed at restoring rights and dignity to individuals who have successfully navigated the criminal law system. In the three years between 2019 and 2021, more than 400 new record reforms were enacted. Many states enacted new laws every year, and all but two states enacted at least one significant new law during this period. A full appreciation of the scope of this movement can be gained by reviewing the detailed 50-state charts and state-by-state profiles in our Restoration of Rights Project. The modern law reform movement reflected in our annual reports is bipartisan, grounded in and inspired by the circumstance that almost a third of adults in the United States now have a criminal record, entangling them in a web of legal restrictions and discrimination that permanently excludes them from full participation in the community. It reflects a public recognition that the “internal exile” of such a significant portion of society is not only unsafe and unfair, but it is also profoundly inefficient. We are pleased to present our report on new laws enacted in 2022, titled The Frontiers of Dignity: Clean Slate and Other Criminal Record Reforms in 2022. While this report shows that the legislative momentum gathering since 2018 slowed somewhat in the past year, there has still been progress, with more new laws enacted this year than in 2018 when the current reform movement took off in earnest.

Washington, DC: Collateral Consequences Resource Center, 2023. 43p.

By Alexandra Gannoni and Samantha Bricknell

“The purpose of this paper is to provide a picture of trends and characteristics of Indigenous deaths in prison and police custody in the 25 years since the RCIADIC. A key focus is to describe the circumstances of Indigenous deaths in custody and how these compare with those reported by the RCIADIC and over time."The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) was established in 1987 in response to growing concern over the deaths of Indigenous people in custody. The RCIADIC (1991) found Indigenous people in custody did not die at a greater rate than non-Indigenous people in custody, but were considerably more likely to be arrested and imprisoned. The RCIADIC (1991) recommended an ongoing program be established by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) to monitor Indigenous and non-Indigenous deaths in prison, police custody and youth detention. In response, the National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) commenced in 1992. Since then, the NDICP has collected comprehensive data on the extent and nature of all deaths in custody in Australia.”

Australian Institute of Criminology. Statistical Bulletin. No. 17. Feb. 2019. 15p.

By Tony Parker

Recidivism and Rehabilitation: The document explores the challenges of rehabilitating repeat offenders, highlighting the cycle of crime and punishment.

Humanity and Understanding: It emphasizes the importance of treating criminals as human beings and understanding their circumstances.

Systemic Failures: The text discusses the inadequacies of the judicial and penal systems in addressing the root causes of criminal behavior.

Personal Struggles: The narrative of Charlie Smith illustrates the personal difficulties and societal rejection faced by habitual offenders.

Faber & Faber, 2013, 176 pages

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

By Sheldon Glueck And Eleanor T. Glueck

The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the after-conduct of discharged offenders, focusing on the implications for reforming criminal justice:

● Causal Relations: It emphasizes the importance of understanding the multiple causal factors, both biological and environmental, that influence criminal behavior.

● Predictive Techniques: The document discusses the feasibility of using predictive tables to aid in sentencing and parole decisions.

● Reform Proposals: It suggests reforms for criminal justice based on scientific insights, such as re-designing correctional equipment to address causes rather than symptoms.

● Scientific Insights: Follow-up studies are highlighted as a means to gain scientific insights into the effectiveness of sentencing, treatment, and parole practices.

These key insights aim to shift the focus from punitive measures to a more rehabilitative approach that considers the complex interplay of factors contributing to criminal behavior.

Cambridge University. London 1945. Kraus Reprint Corporation New York 1966. 129p.

MAY CONTAIN MARKUP

DOMINIQUE MORAN

“The 'punitive tum' has brought about new ways of thinking about geography and the state, and has highlighted spaces of incarceration as a new terrain for exploration by geographers. Carceral geography offers a geographical perspective on incarceration, and this volume accordingly tracks the ideas, practices and engagements that have shaped the development ofthis new and vibrant subdiscipline, and scopes out future research directions. By conveying a sense of the debates, directions, and threads within the field of carceral geography, it traces the inner workings ofthis dynamic field, its synergies with criminology and prison sociology, and its likely future trajectories. Synthesizing existing work in carceral geography, and exploring the future directions it might take, the book develops a notion ofthe 'carceral' as spatial, emplaced, mobile, embodied and affective.”

Ashgate. Surrey, England. 2015. 188p.