NGA Center, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, hosted its annual Institute for Governors Criminal Justice Policy Advisors in Annapolis, Maryland. Governors’ senior criminal justice policy advisors gathered for a two-day summit to explore critical state public safety issues, identify emerging statewide trends, learn about current research and best practices in criminal justice policy, and network with their peers from other states. Among the topics and themes covered at the institute include:

• Best practices related to governance of state criminal justice and public safety systems, including information sharing and use of data for decision making; funding and budgeting; crisis management; and communication with governors, state policymakers, and other stakeholders;
• Overview of emerging state and federal legislative trends, navigating the legislative process, and lessons learned by governors’ criminal justice advisors; and
• Evidence-based approaches for reducing prison populations and recidivism, including community-based sanctions and parole and probation reform.

Agenda

Presentations:

Governors’ Priorities and Emerging Research: Connecting What We Know Works with State Criminal Justice Policy

• John Laub, director, National Institute of Justice
• Phelan Wyrick, senior advisor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice

Effective Strategies to Maintain Public Safety While Doing Less With Less

• Richard Jerome, project manager, Public Safety Performance Project, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Crime Fighting Strategies

• Michael Jacobson, director, VERA Institute of Justice
• Craig Prins, executive director, Oregon Criminal Justice Commission

Trends in Illegal Drug Use and Distribution

• Susan E. Foster, vice president and director of policy research and analysis, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
• Bill Scollon, director, Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs
• Regina LaBelle, policy director, Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Peter Kreiner, researcher, Brandeis University

Additional Resources:

• CASA Report: Behind Bars II: Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population
  This report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University discusses the impact of substance misuse and addiction on the nation’s criminal justice system. The report finds that governments’ failure to prevent and treat addiction increases crime and results in misuse of government funds. Further, it finds that cost effective screening, intervention, and treatment options are available that can be administered effectively through the criminal justice system to save taxpayers millions of dollars and reduce crime.
• CASA Report: Shoveling Up II: The Impact of Substance Abuse on Federal, State and Local Budgets
  This report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University provides a comprehensive picture of substance related spending across all levels of government.
• CrimeSolutions.gov
  This website, launched in June 2011 by the Office of Justice Programs, provides a single, credible, online resource to inform practitioners and policymakers about what works in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victim services.
• Cynthia Lum, “Translating Police Research into Practice,” Ideas in American Policing, Police Foundation, Number 11, August 2009
  This article highlights the Evidence-Based Policing Matrix developed by researchers at George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) and explains how the matrix can be used to translate research into police practices.
• e-Consortium
  George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP), in collaboration with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, formed the e-Consortium, a resource for local, state, federal, and other groups who seek to connect with university researchers and centers on partnerships and projects that are mutually beneficial.
• Evidence-based Policing Matrix
  Researchers at George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy (CEBCP) developed this online interactive tool that provides an easy-to-use framework for summarizing all police evaluation studies of moderate to high rigor.
• FBI Annual Report, Crime in the United States 2010
  The 2010 edition of the FBI’s annual report Crime in the United States presents a statistical compilation of offense and arrest data reported by law enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program.
• George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson, “Broken Windows,” The Atlantic, March 1982
  This landmark article proposes that untended disorder and minor offenses give rise to serious crime and urban decay.
• James Q. Wilson, “Crime and the Great Recession,” City Journal, Summer 2011
  This article explores the continuing drop in crime over the last several years, despite rising unemployment and poverty.
• License Plate Recognition Technology Web Portal
  This website, created by George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, provides law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve with information, research, and analytic guidance about how LPR units can be deployed in more effective and legitimate ways.
• National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA)
  The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) works to promote a balanced approach to communities’ complex public safety and criminal justice problems. NCJA members are the state, territorial and tribal administrators of federal justice assistance grant funding, as well as policymakers and practitioners from all parts of the criminal and juvenile justice systems. NCJA provides training and technical assistance to state criminal justice administering agencies (SAA).
• Pew Issue Brief: Arkansas’s 2011 Public Safety Reform
  This issue brief by Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project examines recent public safety reform efforts in Arkansas that led to passage of the Public Safety Improvement Act.
• Pew Issue Brief: 2011 Kentucky Reforms Cut Recidivism, Costs
  This issue brief by Pew’s Public Safety Performance Project examines recent public safety reform efforts in Kentucky that led to passage of the Public Safety and Offender Accountability Act.
• PMP Center of Excellence Case Study: Keeping Patients Safe: A Case Study on Using Prescription Monitoring Program Data in an Outpatient Addictions Treatment Setting
  This first-person case study looks at the use of prescription history data to screen and monitor patients who are opioid addicted for medically unwarranted concurrent use of controlled substances.
• PMP Center of Excellence Case Study: Staying Clear of the Law and Addiction: Nevada’s Pre-Criminal Intervention Program
  This case study describes an innovative application of data from Nevada’s prescription drug monitoring program that can serve as a model for states looking to stop doctor shopping by prescription drug addicts.
• State Legislation on Sentencing and Corrections Practices – Selected States (2011)
  This document summarizes state legislative reform efforts during the 2011 legislative session addressing sentencing and corrections issues.
• Urban Institute: Drug Courts Can Reduce Substance Use and Crime, Five-Year Study Shows, But Effectiveness Hinges on the Judge
  A recent study of drug courts found that they can significantly decrease drug use and criminal behavior, with more positive outcomes for participants who felt their judge treated them fairly, showed greater respect and interest in them, and gave them more chances to talk during courtroom proceedings.
• White House Office of National Drug Control Policy Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan (2011)
  This prescription drug abuse prevention plan expands upon the Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy and recommends action in four major areas to reduce drug abuse: education, monitoring, proper disposal, and enforcement.
• NGA Center Issue Brief: State Efforts In Sentencing and Corrections Reform
  This issue brief provides an overview of the cost drivers behind corrections expenditures and identifies critical decision-points for states to consider as they take action to reduce costs. It also examines challenges to enacting reforms and makes recommendations for states looking to improve public safety with fewer resources.