Sentencing
A large body of research has been done regarding effective sentencing practices and their application in the criminal justice system. This section contains articles discussing effective alcohol sentencing and treatment practices, effective community supervision programs, screening and assessment tools, recidivism research, and specific research of evidence-based practices that should undergird all community supervision programs.
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- Evidence-Based Sentencing to Improve Public Safety and Reduce Recidivism: A Model Curriculum for Judges Source - Other | This curricular resource from the National Center for State Courts, The National Judicial College, and the Crime and Justice Institute represents a distillation of research into several basic principles of evidence based sentencing. The curriculum materials include a faculty handbook, powerpoints, and handouts to assist trial judges in developing sentencing practices that improve public safety and reduce the risk of offender recidivism.
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10 Drug and Alcohol Policies That Will Save Lives Source - Other | This four-page abstract from the Boston University, School of Public Health summarizes 10 policies developed by groups of national experts and community leaders which are evidence based measures proven to be effective in preventing and reducing alcohol and drug problems. The abstract is an excellent source of reference articles on such subjects as graduated licensing, underage drinking, screening and behavioral counseling interventions to reduce alcohol misuse, and mandatory minimum sentencing research.
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79th Legislature: Community Supervision Diversion Funding Source - Government | This is a two-page brochure from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice outlining the allocation of $27.7 million per year in new diversion program funds.
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Beyond Correctional Quackery - Professionalism and the Possibility of Effective Treatment Source - Other | This seven-page article outlines research conducted at the University of Cincinnati, Department of Criminology, which discusses various theories of crime prevention that have proven to not be effective and outlines four categories in which criminologists and treatment professionals have failed to follow evidence-based practices. The purpose of the article is to "make readers think seriously about how to avoid selecting, designing, and using failed correctional interventions."
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Community Supervision | A Whole New Outlook Source - Texas State Bar | This 17-page article was presented at the Advanced Criminal Law Course in 1998, and contains a detailed discussion of community supervision, including previous community supervision statutes, and current statutes, with a specific detailed discussion of the provisions of Article 42.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and specific conditions of probation. It also discusses revocations, motions and hearings, and early termination of community supervision. Although the original article was written in 1998, much of the content is still current. The reader will have to consult specific statutory provisions to determine which have been amended.
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Developing Successful Reentry Programs: Lessons Learned From the "What Works" Research Source - Other | This five-page article, reprinted from "Corrections Today", discusses research from the University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice, which studies the content (assessment and treatment activities) of reentry programs for inmates, and investigates the effectiveness of different correctional interventions.
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Drunk Driving: Seeking Additional Solutions Source - Other | This 85-page paper, with extensive footnotes, was provided by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, and contains an excellent summary of the history of drunk driving in the United States, citing extensive statistics, followed by a discussion of state and community resources and national institutions that have been formed in an effort to control drunk driving. It also discusses in detail recommendations for improvement including laws, enforcement, adjudication, offender follow-up, and system support. The paper is an excellent systems approach to the problem of drunk driving.
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Effective Alcohol Dependence Treatments Defined Source -Government | This three-page paper from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and discusses a study conducted by the Institute to identify the most effective current treatments and treatment combinations for alcohol dependence. The study looked at the use of naltrexone and acomprosate in conjunction with the behavioral interventions which resulted in substantially reduced drinking during treatment. The findings of the study are also published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 295, Number 17, pages 2003-2017.
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Evidence Based Practices Source - Government | A two-page extract that discusses how the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division has encouraged the use of evidence based practices in community-based programs. It also sets forth the essential components of programs that are proven to reduce recidivism.
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From Theory to Practice: What Works in Reducing Recidivism? Source - Other | This two-page article, written by Dr. Edward Latessa, Division of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, is a quick summary of evidence based practices that, when employed in community-based correctional settings, have been proven to reduce recidivism.
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Impaired Driving Guidebook: Three Keys to Renewed Focus and Success Source - Other | This 30-page paper, prepared by the Impaired Driving Subcommittee, International Association of Chiefs of Police, provides recommendations to substantially reduce impaired driving traffic fatalities and injuries through enhanced enforcement. The report contains statistics citing the cost in the United States of alcohol-related crashes and discusses law enforcement strategies aimed at making a substantial reduction in those statistics.
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Overview of Probation for the 79th Texas Legislature Source - Government | This 12-page report, prepared by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division is an excellent source of graphs and statistics showing how state appropriations for community supervision have not kept up with the percentage of increase in population, citing 2003 and 2004 statistics. The report looks at the cost of community supervision compared to the cost of incarceration and the amount of funding provided for each, and also cites the increasing number of probation revocations. It also emphasizes the use of evidence based practices to reduce recidivism in community supervision and corrections.
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Review of Screening Instruments and Procedures for Evaluating DWI Offenders Source - Other | This 73-page report, prepared for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety contains an excellent, and very detailed discussion of screening instruments used to assess alcohol dependence of defendants charged with DWI. The report discusses the methodology and research behind the validation of screening instruments, discusses current practices, and relates the results of a comparative study of various DWI screening instruments, including a specific discussion of 12 separate screening instruments. The report also sets forth considerations for choosing a screening instrument or instruments for any particular correctional setting.
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Screening and Assessment Tools Source - Other | This one-page document was prepared by the National Drug Court Institute, and is a listing of the most commonly used evidence-based screening tools for assessing alcohol problems. It also provides information on how to acquire these screening tools.
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Standards for CSCDs Source - Government | This 54-page paper was provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, and contains a detailed listing and discussion of all the standards which govern community supervision officers in the State of Texas. It also discusses the role of the Judicial Advisory Council and sets forth the objectives of the TDCJ-CJAD.
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State Sentencing Alternatives Source - Texas State Bar | This 35-page paper was presented at the Advanced Criminal Law Course in 2005, and is a manual designed to provide a readily accessible source of concise information about community corrections sentencing alternatives and sanctions in Texas. It discusses the eligibility and authority to impose, modify, and revoke probation, the use of nonresidential sentencing alternatives, the use of residential community corrections sentencing alternatives, drug courts and substance abuse and sentencing alternatives, and discusses the most recent research concerning what works to reduce recidivism.
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Strengthening Community Supervision Source - Government | This two-page abstract, provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, illustrates the statistics which reflect the percentage change in community supervision from 1995-2004. It also illustrates statistics reflecting system-wide collections and system-wide costs for incarceration and community supervision.
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Strengthening Community Supervision Sanctions & Services Source - Government | This 40-page paper prepared by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, is subtitled Report of the Technical Violations Committee Recommendations. The report reflects the committee's review of relevant data and professional literature and four interrelated surveys, and sets forth empirical findings, committee conclusions, and recommendations.
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Summary of Responses to TDCJ-CJAD Sentencing Survey Source - Government | This 22-page abstract, prepared by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, sets forth the results of a survey conducted in 2004 of Texas judges and all directors of Community Supervision Corrections Departments in the state. The survey asked the respondents their opinions regarding ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of community supervision including early discharge and at length of community supervision, progressive sanctions, and providing additional resources for Community Supervision.
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Texas Intermediate Sanctions Bench Manual Source - Government | This 76-page manual, prepared by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, is the result of the survey and report of the Technical Violations Committee and its purpose is to provide a readily accessible source of information about community corrections sentencing alternatives. It discusses in further detail the eligibility and authority to impose, modify, and revoke probation, the use of nonresidential sentencing alternatives, the use of residential community corrections sentencing alternatives, drug courts and substance abuse and sentencing alternatives, and discusses the most recent research concerning what works to reduce recidivism.
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Topics in Community Supervision Source - Government | This two-page abstract, provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Community Justice Assistance Division, illustrates the statistics that were gleaned from the sentencing survey of judges, and the statistics that illustrate the number of early discharges and early discharge recidivism, the average length of probation, and the use of progressive sanctions during the period from 1995-2004.
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Trial and Error: Failure and Innovation in Criminal Justice Reform (2007) Source - Government | An 11- page article from the Center for Court Innovation that studies attempts at innovation in the judicial process. Rather than focusing attention on well-known achievements in the field, this “red paper”, the product of semi-structured interviews with criminal justice experts, researchers and practitioners, seeks instead to provoke debate as to why some criminal justice reforms work and some do not. It examines the kinds of failures in which well-intended efforts fall short of their objectives: the enforcement strategy that criminals ignore, the compliance monitoring scheme that doesn’t reduce re-offending or the seemingly successful job training program for ex-offenders that suddenly closes up shop. Since failure is a necessary part of innovation, this study examines the causes for failure and lessons that can be learned and failures avoided.
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Understanding the Risk Principle: How and Why Correctional Interventions Can Harm Low-Risk Offenders Source - Other | This eight-page paper, republished from Topics in Community Corrections, discusses research conducted at the University of Cincinnati, Division of Criminal Justice, which discusses why it is important to assess the risk level of offenders in any correctional setting and then tailor supervision and treatment programs to that risk level. In particular, the research shows that placing low-risk offenders into treatment programs with high-risk offenders not only wastes resources, but can actually increase the recidivism rates for the low-risk offenders.
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Up to Speed | A Review of Research for Practitioners Source - Other | This five-page paper, republished from Federal Probation, Volume 65, Number 1, is subtitled Practitioner's Guide to Understanding the Basis of Assessing Offender Risk. The article discusses using the risk classification and risk assessment tools to properly categorize offenders’ risk categories and tailor treatment to those assessments. It also addresses levels of supervision and levels of treatment for different risk levels and contains an extensive research list of references.