What if Hurricane Irene had hit Rikers Island?

While the Mayor's Office has come under fire for its statement to the Times that no evacuation plan existed for Riker's inmates, others activitists say that in "talks with city administrators over the past few days, the city made it clear that it did have a plan to move inmates on lower lying areas on Rikers to higher ground in the case of flooding, but that city officials made an early determination that the entire island was on high enough ground that they did not need their plan."  The controversy is summed up in Colorlines Magazine this week.

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The "Secret Ingredient": Why Respectful Judging Matters

Today's New York Law Journal published an Op-ed by Center for Court Innovation's (CCI) Director, Greg Berman, and Research Director, Mike Rempel, entitled "Judges Matter: How Courts Reduce Crime and Save Money."  The Op-ed describes a study, commissioned by the National Institute of Justice and conducted by the Urban Institute, CCI, and RTI International, that finds that "drug court participants are one-third less likely to report using drugs 18 months after enrollment in the program, and that they are responsible for less than half as many criminal acts as the comparison group after 18 months." Such reductions in criminal behavior are estimated to save approximately $5,680 per participant. What is the "secret ingredient" to why drug courts work?

It's in the judge, so the research demonstrates. "When participants believe that the judge treats them fairly, they do better. . .When offenders understand the process, feel that they've been treated with respect and believe that their voice has been heard in court, they are more likely to accept court decisions-even ones that go against them. . . The most effective judges were those whose demeanor was independently rated by researchers as respectful, fair, attentive, enthusiastic, consistent, and caring.  This finding is echoed by other studies that have suggested that the role of the judge is just as critical to defendants' success as the provision of treatment."

Up at the Harlem Community Justice Center, one of CCI's projects, we have applied this key concept to our Reentry Court.  In the Harlem Parole Reentry Court, individuals under community supervision (i.e. on parole), regularly meet with a judge, his/her parole officer, a graduate of the program, and a case manager. Although the setting, a traditional court room,  is familiar to the client, the interaction is anything less than typical. The judge asks the client about his life, his struggles, his successes. He asks about his children and his interests. He has the court clap for him when he does well, and speaks compassionately when he struggles. He warns him respectfully about potential consequences of non-compliance, and if he supports the parole officer in mandating the client to a new program or for an evaluation, he explains why.  He also gets off the bench at the end of each session and  pats the client on the back.    

No doubt, the drug court study has important implications for all courts. As the Op-ed states, "It offers powerful ammunition to legislative and executive branch leaders who are currently attempting to trim correctional spending and invest in alternatives to incarceration like drug courts...For judicial leaders, the drug court study poses a challenge: Is it possible to spread some of the basic elements of drug court judging-a problem solving orientation, individualized attention to each case, an emphasis on respectful interaction with defendants-throughout court systems?"

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Consenting to Confinement: Sex Offenders Overwhelmingly Waiving Their Right to Trial Before Civil Confinement

This week's New York Law Journal reports that nearly 92 percent of sex offenders civilly confined following the completion of their prison sentence have waived their right to trial since the passage of the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act, thereby consenting to indefinite confinement.

Under the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act, which took effect in 2007, upon completion of a criminal sentence, the state can continue confining a sex offender upon proof of "clear and convincing evidence" (a high legal standard) that the individual suffers from a "mental abnormality" that predisposes him or her to commit sex crimes. The respondent has the right to a  jury trial and a unanimous verdict is required for confinement.

Although 20% of individuals who were confined for a sex offense win at trial (and are therefore released to parole or set free), most are opting to remain confined.  The question is why? Officials have been very surprised by the choice to forgo trial since the worst outcome of trial is confinement.

Attorneys who represent clients in civil confinement cases say that many sex offenders know the great barriers to reentry they will confront upon release. Residency restrictions forbid them from living in many areas and many housing providers exclude sex offenders from transitional housing. For example, in New York City, if the offender an is under parole or probation supervision, the individual may not live within 1,000 feet of a school or other facility caring for children. Getting a job is no less of a feat. With no social safety net,  former sex offenders fear they will end up homeless and marginalized. 

Dr. Wulfert, Professor of Psychology suggests that "many offenders assume confinement is inevitable, and some may realize they cannot control their impulses, do not trust themselves, and genuinely do not want to reoffend....They may also want to avoid more humiliation..."

Others suggest that consenting to confinement may be a "strategic move" hoping that "if they readily admit they have a problem the courts may be more receptive to releasing them in a year or so when they come up for mandatory annual review."

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Facebook Removes Inmate Profiles at Request of Law Enforcement

The state of California and Facebook recently began a formal partnership with the goal of removing the Facebook accounts of  inmates.  The partnership began when an individual convicted of a sex offense was found viewing the pages of his victim with a contraband cell phone. Authorities report that inmates use their accounts to do anything from connecting with family members to ordering crimes to be committed on their behalf.  For more on this story, click here.  To see a sample page, click here.

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"Why all those desks have tvs on them" : Technology and Reentry

One of our Deputy Director, John Megaw's favorite stories to recall about the challenges facing long-timers returning from prison is about a man who served 20 years and was released into our Reentry Court program. John escorted him upstairs to do an intake assessment with him and guided him down our clinic corridor which has cubicles equipped with the usual office ammenities.  John brought him into his office, the man sat down across from him, and said, "First things first, why does everyone have a television on their desk?"  John explained that those were actually computers, and realized just how much techology had changed since the man's incarceration. 

When I met Mr. X, who has been incarcerated for over 31 years and who has been the subject of a few blog posts over the past year, I remembered this story and thought of all the innovations that he hasn't experienced over the years.  In this excerpt of an inteview I conducted with Mr. X, he responds to my question about the technological advances that he is most curious about.


I would have to say the computer, the internet. You can locate anything on the internet. I also curious about  cell phones. When I left the free world we had big telephones in my apartment, now when I look at the news on TVI see everybody walking around with cell phones. They are talking and texting people. Also the big flat screen televisions and The GPS systems fascinate me. They have phones and computers where  you can see the person as you speak to them, the phones can take pictures and record things and small IPods, MP3 where you can have some many of your favorite songs on such a small device. I also got a chance to see how the U.S. Treasury changed some of the money (paper money). I do a lot of reading and I watch the news so I can know what’s happening out there.


My grandchildren also write me telling me about things she does the computer. My granddaughter Destiny, 10yrs.old, has written to me saying," Grandpa, do you know what these initials mean? OMG, LOL, TMI, BFF etc. I didn't, of course, so she has to tell me the answers. When she wrote me back she gave me the definitions to all the initials: OMG= oh my god; LOL= laugh out loud; TMI=too much information and BFF= best friends forever.

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