Jail Industries and Reentry

1
Jail Industries and Reentry

• A Case for Funding Jails to Prepare Inmate
  Workers for Post-Release Employment
• Washington State
• Jail Industries Board

2
Reentry Happens

• While still fairly new in the criminal justice
  vernacular, reentry is the latest term coined
  to describe release from incarceration back to
  the community. Regardless of the term we use,
  this process occurs whether we prepare the
  offender and the community, or not. We either do
  it correctly or are doomed to repeat the process
  again and again.
• Dean Mason, Executive Director
• Washington State Jail Industries Board

3
The Reentry Mother Lode

• There are an estimated 12 million releases from
  American jails each year, representing 9 million
  unique individuals (Beck, 2006). emphasis added
• Beck, A. J. (2006, June 27). The Importance of
  Successful Reentry to Jail Population Growth.
  Presented to the Urban Institute Jail Reentry
  Roundtable, Washington, DC.

4
In Perspective - National
5
Where Should We Intervene?

• Jails release 18 offenders back to the community
  for every prison release
• Jails often book and release the same offender
  two or more times in a year
• The average offender will go to jail several
  times before being sentenced and/or returned to
  prison
• Fifty-three percent of jail inmates were on
  probation, parole or pretrial release at the time
  of arrest
• Thirty-nine percent of jail inmates in 2002 had
  served 3 or more prior sentences to incarceration
  or probation
• Criminal Offenders Statistics, Bureau of Justice
  Affairs

6
Revolving Door or Opportunity?

• NIC National Institute of Corrections shared
  that on average a 1,000-bed jail turns over its
  beds 36 times in one year, totaling a population
  of 36,000. Similarly, a 1,000-bed prison, again
  on average, only turns over 750 beds annually,
  totaling a population of 1,750. This gives a
  clear understanding that jails are often dealing
  with higher volume and far more turnover.
• Jails vs. Prisons, Daron Hall
• Sheriff, Davidson County, Nashville, TN
• Corrections Today, February 2006

7
A Different Approach Needed

• The national discussion on offender reentry has
  focused primarily on individuals returning to the
  community from prisons, with relatively little
  attention given to the unique challenges and
  opportunities surrounding those reentering the
  community from jails. Yet there is a need for an
  innovative, collaborative, data-driven approach
  to jail transition.
• Assembling the Jail Reentry Puzzle, Jesse
  Jannetta
• AMERICANJails, September/October 2009

8
Jail Facilities - National

• The latest data available indicates that
  throughout the United States, more than 3,200
  jail facilities were distributed among 2,860 jail
  jurisdictions. Beck 2006
• __________________________________________________
  ____
• At midyear 2008, 785,556 inmates were held in the
  nation's local jails, up from 780,174 at midyear
  2007.
• In 2008, jails reported adding 14,911 beds during
  the previous 12 months, bringing the total rated
  capacity to 828,413
• 95 of the rated capacity was occupied at midyear
  2008.
• U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice
  Statistics
• http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jails.htm

9
Jail Populations - National

• From 2000 to 2008, the number of jail inmates per
  100,000 U.S. residents rose from 226 to 258
• Almost nine out of every ten jail inmates were
  adult males. However, the number of adult females
  in jail increased faster than males
• Between 1990 and 2008, the number of Hispanic
  jail inmates increased at a faster average annual
  rate of growth (4.5) than white (3.8) and black
  inmates (3.3)
• Blacks were three times more likely than
  Hispanics and five times more likely than whites
  to be in jail
• U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice
  Statistics
• http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jails.htm

10
Jail Facilities Washington

• 37 of 39 Washington State Counties have a jail
• San Juan County has a temporary holding facility
  only
• Douglas County is a partner of the Chelan County
  Regional Justice Center
• 20 cities in Washington have a jail
• Washington Jails have a combined capacity of
  15,298 beds
• 89 of the rated capacity was occupied in 2008
• While some jails were occupied under rated
  capacity, twelve jails (4 cities and 8 counties)
  were over-populated
• Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police
  Chiefs (WASPC)
• http//www.waspc.org/index.php?cJail20Statistics
  

11
The Biggest

• King County was number 36 of the 50 largest jail
  jurisdictions in the nation for 2008
• King Countys average daily population (ADP) for
  2008 was 2,657 inmates
• Operating at 84 of its rated capacity
• U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice
  Statistics
• http//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/jails.htm
• Discrepancy between ADP reported to BJS, data
  collected by the Washington Association of
  Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), and data
  posted to King County website for 2008 all data
  reported is within 2 of the USDOJ reported
  operating percentage

12
The Smallest

• TechnicallySan Juan County maintains a 72-hour
  holding facility in Friday Harbor. Commitments
  from the court system that exceed 48 hours are
  transferred to Island County Correctional
  Facility in Coupeville.
• Columbia County jail was recently remodeled
  from 8 bunks to 11, but it is still the smallest
  jail in the state by one bed
• Columbia County jail is also the oldest jail in
  the state, originally built as a ships brig in
  1874, purchased used for 2,000, and
  incorporated into the construction of the county
  courthouse in 1887
• http//www.columbiacosheriff.com/columbia_county_j
  ail_facility.htm

13
Jail Populations - Washington

• Washington State jails conducted approximately
  295,000 individual bookings (intakes) in 2008
• Of those bookings, roughly 8,000 were newly
  committed or recommitted to prison
• While the numbers vary based on releases of
  inmates from the previous year, release of those
  serving violation time only, etc., 100 of the
  remainder not sentenced to prison are released
  back to the community
• The average length of stay in a Washington State
  jail in 2008 was 21.44 days

Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police
Chiefs (WASPC) combined with data from King and
Lewis counties, the City of Kirkland, and
estimated bookings for the City of Fife
14
Prison Releases - Washington

• In 2008, the Washington State Department of
  Corrections released 8,858 offenders who
  completed their sentence
• 757 of those released were to a jurisdiction
  other than in Washington State
• DOC released 18,574 offenders from serving
  additional incarceration time for violations of
  their community supervision conditions
• 55 - 60 of those violator sentences were
  completed in local jails (estimated from the
  2007-2009 decision package on management of
  community violators)
• Washington State Department of Corrections
• Prison Releases by County - Fiscal Year 2008

15
In Perspective - Local
Jail release numbers for calendar year 2008 are
compared against prison release numbers for
fiscal year 2008 however, the graphical variance
would change little
16
Local Research Global Data

• The Washington State Institute for Public Policy
  (WSIPP) conducts nonpartisan research at the
  direction of the states legislature, and
  findings are used to help inform public
  policymakers
• The institute conducted a systematic review of
  all research evidence that could be located to
  determine what works, if anything, to reduce
  crime
• This meta analysis of the research defined which
  evidence-based programs produced favorable
  returns on investment and, therefore, should
  inform public policy for effective offender
  reentry planning
• http//www.wsipp.wa.gov/rptfiles/09-00-1201.pdf

17
Significant Finding

• Serious crime is costly to victims and
  taxpayers our economic analysis for Washington
  indicates that evidence-based - and reasonably
  priced - programs that achieve even relatively
  small reductions in crime can produce attractive
  returns on investment.
• Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce
  Crime and Criminal Justice Costs Implications in
  Washington State
• Elizabeth K. Drake, Steve Aos, and Marna G.
  Miller
• Washington State Institute for Public Policy
• Olympia, Washington, USA

18
What Works?

• Sample of programs providing significant return
  on investment

The return on investment for correctional
industries is 32.70 for every 1 spent. (Net
Benefits divided by Costs)
19
Application to Jail Industries

• It is also important to note that the net
  benefits of educational, vocational and
  cognitive-behavioral therapy programs produce
  higher net benefits therefore, it can be assumed
  that a combination of these programs with work
  while incarcerated in jail will produce an even
  better prepared worker upon release

See note on next slide
20
Application to Jail Industries

• While the research used by WSIPP to evaluate the
  return on investment of correctional industries
  is based on prison industries programs, a
  well-designed jail industries program could
  garner similar net benefits
• The fact that jail inmates release within weeks
  in most cases leaves room for argument that
  effective jail programming could yield higher net
  benefits if combined with post-release services
• Such programs appear more necessary at the jail
  level to prevent future, more serious crime,
  subsequent prison sentences, and the associated
  financial and social costs

Assumptions made are not those of the Washington
State Institute for Public Policy
21
The Importance of Collaboration

• Regardless of the quality of any jail industries
  program and the agencys good intentions, jails
  cannot accomplish successful offender reentry on
  their own. Every agency needs to enlist the
  assistance of other governmental and
  community-based partners. This approach
  leverages the initial momentum of jail industries
  and other programs, and the work already being
  done by partners, so that the total effort is
  coordinated, efficient, and measurable.
• Dean Mason, Executive Director
• Washington State Jail Industries Board

22
Collaboration

• Opens lines of communication
• Reduces barriers and turf mentality
• Decreases duplication of effort
• Creates a defined continuum of services during
  incarceration and post-release
• Saves time, money, resources and lives
• Collaboration is the key
• to successful offender reentry!

23
Financial Impact

• Financial impact of an effective jail industries
  program

• Jail operational costs are lowered through jail
  industries positive effect on offender behavior
  
• All levels of government and not-for-profit
  agencies can financially benefit from industries
  operations that provide products and services at
  reduced costs to those agencies, including the
  jail itself
• Under appropriate circumstances and conditions,
  private businesses can utilize jail industries to
  perform work not currently done in the community
  and to develop future non-incarcerated workers

24
Social Impact

• Social impact of an effective jail industries
  program

• Offenders develop social awareness,
  responsibility, work ethics, and self-esteem
• They develop usable employment skills
• They become tax payers versus tax burdens
• The largest impact, however, is the
  evidence-based reduction in recidivism that not
  only results in huge financial savings to the
  taxpayers, but more importantly results in the
  reduction of personal costs in lives, suffering,
  and property loss for victims

25
Conclusion

• Jails reenter offenders back to the community
  sooner and in much larger numbers than do
  prisons. The statistics and research indicate
  that our best opportunity to prevent an
  individuals continued criminal behavior and
  avoid an eventual sentence to prison is to
  provide evidence-based programming during their
  time in jail and post-release. A combination of
  education, vocational training,
  cognitive-behavioral therapy, and jail industries
  employment is good public policy that can assist
  in ensuring a successful reentry strategy for
  local jails and the communities they serve.