The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/research-analysis/)
In what is already one of the most litigious election years in U.S. history, federal lawsuits alleging violations of voters’ civil rights in the wake of election contests between February and August have soared by 82 percent over the same period in 2016, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
A study by the Data Collaborative for Justice (DCJ) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that in 2018, there were 5.8 enforcement actions against Black people for every one enforcement against a white person.
The death penalty’s disproportionate use against Black Americans reflects the legacy of lynchings and other brutal punishments used by law enforcement and the justice system as tools to control people of color, argues the Death Penalty Information Center in a new report.
An Urban Institute study of Kentucky’s landmark youth justice reform law passed in 2014 found that nearly nine out of 10 youth completed diversion programs and avoided formal court involvement. Nevertheless, race and ethnic disparities in the diversion programs were “significant and persisted,” and recidivism rates didn’t statistically change.
A “snapshot” of the state prison population as of last summer found significant disproportional impact on people of color who were confined to solitary.
A representative survey of 4,000 Americans released by the Alliance for Safety and Justice found at least six in ten voters support alternatives to incarceration and early releases instituted since COVID-19. The support crossed party lines and geographic differences.
The cost of imprisonment doesn’t end for a formerly incarcerated individual after release. A new study from The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law estimates the total amount of money lost each year by Americans who have a criminal conviction or spent time in prison is $372.3 billion.
Official misconduct contributed to the false criminal convictions of more than 50 percent of innocent people who were later exonerated, according to a report from the National Registry of Exonerations.
The annual crime victimization survey found a notable decline last year after several years of rising crime. This year’s results may differ markedly under changed conditions during the pandemic.
The Collateral Consequences Resource Center’s analysis of reentry laws across the U.S. found significant improvements in record expungement, employment counseling and other incentives for successful reintegration. But the authors noted many states are still falling short.