20150130-203608-66

Since state leaders launched justice reinvestment in June, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center have been working with members of the Prison Reform Task Force, policymakers, and stakeholders to begin the comprehensive analysis of the state’s criminal justice system.

The Alabama Sentencing Commission, Department of Corrections, and Board of Pardons and Paroles have all submitted case level data on individuals that are involved in the criminal justice system. The CSG Justice Center has received and begun analyzing data on individuals convicted of felonies, their offense type, sentenced imposed, time served, where they are serving their sentence, and other important areas.

The CSG Justice Center has also reviewed internal criminal justice agency policies and held several meetings and phone calls with stakeholders to gather additional information about how the state interacts with felons. The most in-depth discussions this month have been with probation, parole, and community corrections management, supervisors, and staff. In day-long visits to Decatur, Fort Payne, Birmingham, and Montgomery, CSG Justice Center staff had conversations about the policies and practices of the agencies that supervise individuals serving time in the community. These visits also included spending a day at the LIFE Tech center, a residential transition center for parolees and probationers in Thomasville, Alabama.

The CSG Justice Center also worked with District 14 Senator to highlight the issues Alabama is facing and educate law and policy makers nationwide on the justice reinvestment approach, by helping the Senator prepare to testify at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on prison reform.

Our conversations with probation, parole, and community corrections practitioners in Alabama revealed valuable information about how individuals are supervised in the community.

Probation and parole officers in some jurisdictions not only work directly with individuals on their caseloads, but they also have to handle other responsibilities, which include completing presentence investigations and writing other reports. And with large caseloads averaging around 192 cases per officer, probation and parole officers have limited time to effectively supervise individuals. In three offices statewide, specialists have been hired to focus on administrative tasks and allow officers with caseloads to devote their time elsewhere, but there are not enough resources to bring on additional specialists at this time.

Feedback from our focus group discussions leads us to believe that risk and needs assessments are conducted on each individual that is supervised in the community. Practices on how these assessments are used as a case management tool vary from county to county. In some rural counties, there are fewer people under supervision and caseloads are more manageable, so officers can devote more time to client interaction regardless of risk and need assessment results. By contrast, larger counties are more reliant on assessment results to assist them with tailoring the supervision approach for the large number of clients they are supervising.

Probation and parole staff expressed a desire to improve practices and continue to try to find ways to do so. The Board of Pardons and Parole central office is working to upgrade their risk assessment tool in addition to seeking training on motivational interviewing for officers statewide.

Community Corrections providers have varied approaches to working with individuals as well. One example of this is the variation in programs offered in urban and rural locations. Programs set up in urban, highly populated areas, appear to have more resources, which allows for better access to services. The Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (TASC) program in Birmingham, for example, provided many of the programs and services for clients on-site in their offices. Mentoring, drug testing, substance abuse treatment, and support groups were located in the TASC offices. But other community corrections programs in more rural areas lack the resources and personnel to provide many services, so they refer their clients to programs located in different areas.

07/02) Call with District 3 State Senator regarding medical care offered in prison facilities, details of the justice reinvestment project, current challenges Alabama faces, and project’s next steps.
• (07/02) Call with Alabama Judiciary Circuit Judge regarding planning further discussion about community supervision, details of the justice reinvestment project, current challenges Alabama faces, and project’s next steps.
• (07/02) Call with Project Manager of Jefferson County Community Corrections regarding organizing a focus group at the Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities and justice reinvestment project introduction.
• (07/02) Call with Executive Assistant regarding planning for District 14 State Senator’s trip to Washington D.C. to provide testimony later in the month.
• (07/07) Call with District 14 State Senator regarding preparation for his upcoming hearing testimony.
• (07/08) Meeting with Assistant Attorney General (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Assistant Executive Director (Board of Pardons and Paroles), 4 Officers in Charge (Probation and Parole), and Director (Decatur Community Corrections), regarding probation, parole, and community corrections supervision policies and practices in Decatur.
• (07/09) Meeting with Assistant Attorney General (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Assistant Executive Director (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Officer in Charge (Probation and Parole), Executive Director (Cherokee/DeKalb Court Referral Program) regarding probation, parole, and community corrections supervision policies and practices in Fort Payne.
• (07/10) Meeting with Assistant Attorney General (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Assistant Executive Director (Board of Pardons and Paroles), District Manager (Probation and Parole), Director of Jefferson County Community Corrections regarding probation, parole, and community corrections supervision policies and practices in Birmingham.
• (07/10) Meeting with Policy Counsel (Alabama Policy Institute) regarding political climate in the state, potential plans to navigate the legislative process, and an update on the progress of the justice reinvestment project.
• (07/11) Call with Director of Montgomery County Community Corrections discussing progress on justice reinvestment project and plans to visit and discuss policies with him and his staff.
• (07/15) Meeting at LIFE Tech facility with Assistant Attorney General and Executive Director, from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, discussing the policies and practices in place at the facility.
• (07/16) Meeting with Assistant Attorney General (Board of Pardons and Paroles), Assistant Executive Director (Board of Pardons and Paroles), and District Manager (Probation and Parole) regarding probation and parole supervision policies and practices in Montgomery.
• (07/16) Meeting with Montgomery District Manager (Probation and Parole) to review individual probation and parole case files.
• (07/17) Meeting with Deputy Legal Advisor (Governor’s Office) regarding justice reinvestment project update, and strategy to obtain arrest and criminal history data from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center.
• (07/17) Call with Alabama State Director (National Federation of Independent Businesses) discussing current challenges Alabama faces, project’s next steps, and potential allies at the Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee.
• (07/17) Meeting with Director of Montgomery County Community Corrections regarding community corrections supervision policies and practices in Montgomery, and an update on justice reinvestment.
• (07/23) Call with Director of Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee introducing him to the justice reinvestment project and considering others on the committee that may want to stay informed.
• (07/24) Call with Executive Director and Senior Attorney of Equal Justice Initiative updating them on the progress of the justice reinvestment project, discussing barriers to success, and opportunities to engage criminal defense attorneys further.
• (07/24) Call with 14th District State Senator discussing the best way to respond to particular task force member interest in raw data and data analyses.
• (07/24) Call with Chairman of Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee discussing the justice reinvestment project work thus far in the state and opening the line of communication between the Justice Center and his organization.
• (07/25) Call with Director and Research Analyst from the Alabama Sentencing Commission updating them on community supervision focus groups and clarifying felony sentencing options.
• (07/28) Call with Managing Attorney (Southern Poverty Law Center) regarding potential interview with 14th District Senator to discuss Alabama criminal justice system on National Public Radio.
• (07/29) Call with Commissioner of Department of Corrections to discuss planning for September Prison Reform Task Force meeting and potential policy options.
• (07/29) Call with Right on Crime Staff (Policy Director, Senior Fellow, Senior Policy Analyst, Campaign Associate) and Pew Charitable Trusts Staff (Manager – State Policy, Senior Associate, and Project Manager, Pew Charitable Trusts) discussing strategy for the legislative process and update on the project.
• (07/29) Call with 14 District State Senator regarding a potential interview with Managing Attorney of the Southern Poverty Law Center to discuss Alabama’s criminal justice system on National Public Radio.

Analyses for July were limited to felony sentencing data. Explored the data sets provided to the CSG Justice Center by the Alabama Sentencing Commission. Analyzed the relationship between sentences by offense class and offense type. Further explored the relationships between sentence length by sentence type, offense class, and offense type. Completed project calls with staff from the Alabama Sentencing Commission to gain better understanding of the nuances in sentencing. Explored the sentencing worksheets data sets, becoming more familiar with the data contained in those files. Discussed data needs and timelines with fellow CSG Justice Center staff. Explored the Department of Corrections data sets and will begin analysis in August.

Gained familiarity with the AOC sentence and sentencing worksheets data sets. Explored the distribution of sentences from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2012, determining that in the most recent year, 45% of felony sentences were prison bound. Consulted with Alabama Sentencing Commission to understand the nuances in sentence types, learning that in many instances community corrections probation and community corrections split sentences are very similar.

Aside from analyses, all initial data sets were finally provided by ADOC, ABPP and ASC. As such, data analyses will be able to move forward as planned.

07/01) Reviewed codebook to determine the data elements available. Explored the dataset to look at trends in sentencing across years, including race, sex, and offense, among other variables.
• (07/02) Reviewed felony-sentencing data.
• (07/03) Reviewed felony-sentencing data in preparation for call with Executive Director (Alabama Sentencing Commission).
• (07/14) Received feedback regarding initial look at the data. Discussed expectations for further inspection of the data. Explored the confinement imposed variable across sentence groups, calculating average and median sentences imposed. Created graphical representations of the data. Further investigated the community corrections piece of the data set, exploring the offenses for which it is applied. Also explored the confinement and probation dispositions associated with sentence. This area will require further exploration.
• (07/16) Cleaned the sentencing worksheets data set, combining fiscal years and similar characteristics across all three worksheet types.
• (07/18) Discussed data needs and completed initial look at the sentencing data, analyzing the changes in sentences over time.
• (07/18) Discussed recent analyses of the felony sentencing data.
• (07/21) Reformatted ADOC raw data files for use by SPSS.
• (07/23) Discussed evolving understanding of sentencing groups and effect on analyses; also continued with initial exploration of ADOC data.
• (07/24) Continued initial exploration of ADOC data.
• (07/24) Compiled a collection of analyses to be used in the next round of presentations to Alabama stakeholders. Analyzed sentence distribution from FY 2007 to FY 2012. Reviewed offense class by sentence. Created groupings for confinement, community corrections, and probation sentence lengths. Analyzed those by sentence groupings. Calculated mean and median confinement and probation sentence lengths by sentence groupings.
• (07/29) Reviewed raw data provided by Director of IT, Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole.
• (07/31) Discussed latest round of felony sentencing data analyses; discussion about ADOC data - specifically admissions and related sentences.

The Huntsville Times - Sen. Cam Ward to Testify Before Congressional Panel on Prison Reform (July 15, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - Governor Bentley to Feds, Prison Reform Advocates: 'You All Are Crazy to Sue Us' (July 28, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - 'Crazy' to Sue Alabama Over prisons? It Was Regrettable but Necessary, Lawyer Says (July 28, 2014)

Since the launch of justice reinvestment, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center has been working with state leaders, members of the Prison Reform Taskforce, policy makers, and stakeholders to continue the comprehensive analysis of the state’s criminal justice system.

At the CSG Justice Center’s Austin office, staff met with the Executive Director and Senior Research Analyst of the Alabama Sentencing Commission (ASC) to discuss and review preliminary analyses on data current through September 2012, and to also receive more recent sentencing data through June 2014. CSG Justice Center staff are in the process of analyzing and refining the sentencing data received from ASC to include in the upcoming September Prison Reform Taskforce meeting.

CSG Justice Center staff also distributed two statewide surveys to receive feedback from probation and parole officers as well as community corrections program providers. Surveys were sent out to managers, supervisors, and staff in order to improve CSG Justice Center’s understanding of supervision polices and practices in the field. The surveys focused on case management, use of risk assessment, treatment and resource availability, and responses to violations of supervision. The results will also be incorporated into the upcoming September Taskforce meeting.

CSG Justice Center staff continued stakeholder engagement, holding several meetings and phone calls with stakeholders to gather additional information. An August site visit to Montgomery included meetings with leadership and key staff from the Department of Corrections, the Governor’s Office, the Alabama Sentencing Commission, and Senate leadership as well. CSG Justice Center staff and Senator Ward recorded their first podcast on the JRI project for the Business Council of Alabama to distribute to business leaders, and plan to continue these podcasts going forward. The visit also included a roundtable meeting with the Association of County Commissions of Alabama’s (ACCA) County Policy Team on Prison Reform to receive feedback and concerns from county level leadership on the JRI project.

Early in the JRI project, the Alabama District Attorneys Association recommended that the CSG evaluation of the criminal justice system include an analysis on the impact of the presumptive sentencing guidelines for non-violent offenses. These guidelines became mandatory in October 2013. To address this concern, CSG Justice Center reached out to the Alabama Sentencing Commission to receive and analyze sentencing data through June 2014. It will be important to determine the actual impacts of the mandatory guidelines on the relevant case types.

The roundtable discussion with ACCA underscored the seriousness of resource scarcity, with county jails and community corrections programs portrayed as struggling to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment. According to ACCA members, in 2012 and 2013, the Alabama Department of Mental Health closed all but two of its facilities with the expectation that community-based treatment services would be able to expand and serve this population. County representatives reported that county jail populations have experienced a surge in individuals with mental health issues, but staff members in jails are not equipped to work effectively with this population. Statewide probation, parole and community corrections survey results the CSG Justice Center began reviewing in August reveal similar feedback, with respondents indicating that connecting individuals on supervision to treatment, especially mental health, is difficult.

Meetings/Calls- Monthly Log:
• (08/01) Call with Account Manager (SAS Software) to discuss the possibility of SAS helping the state of Alabama with connecting various state agencies' databases.
• (08/04) Call with President (Southern Poverty Law Center), Senior Supervising Attorney (Southern Poverty Law Center) and 2 Pew State Policy Managers to discuss engaging different stakeholders in the business and advocate community, as well as potential media strategy going forward.
• (08/06) Call with 33rd District State Senator to discuss general updates on the Alabama project and to explore the possibility of the Senator participating on a Criminal Justice Panel at the CSG Annual Conference in Alaska.
• (08/11) Call with President-Elect (AL Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association) to discuss general updates on the Alabama project and explored possibility of meeting with the Defense Board during a site visit.
• (08/11) Call with 2 Senior Fellows from Center for Government & Public Affairs at Auburn to discuss assistance related to probation/parole case file pull and entry of data from paper forms into database.
• (08/13) Call with Legal Director (Alabama Appleseed) to discuss general updates on the Alabama project, including preliminary data analysis and feedback from the July probation and parole focus groups. Also discussed organizing a meeting with Appleseed, SPLC, ALCU and EJI.
• Onsite (08/13-08/15)
o Three-day meeting with Executive Director (AL Sentencing Commission) and Research Analyst (AL Sentencing Commission) to understand the raw data files given to the CSG Justice Center. Data and policy discussion highlights consisted of budget challenges for Alabama, sentencing policies, including the recent mandatory presumptive guidelines for non-violent offenders implemented in October 2013, as well as community corrections and parole practices.
• (08/20) Call with Director (Jefferson County Community Corrections Program) to discuss general updates on the Alabama project, including preliminary data analysis and feedback from the July probation and parole focus groups. Also discussed community corrections system challenges including lack of uniformity and oversight.
• (08/25) Call with Community Outreach Coordinator (US Department of Justice) to discuss general updates on the Alabama project, including preliminary data analysis and feedback from the July probation and parole focus groups, and to solicit advice on reaching out to additional stakeholders.
• Onsite (08/26-08/28)
o Meeting with Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) to discuss JR project, possible policy options and prepare for the upcoming podcast with the Business Council of Alabama.
o Podcast with Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) and CSG Justice Center staff for the Business Council of Alabama (BCA). First of multiple podcasts to loop in the business community to keep them updated on the AL JR project. Vice President of Public Policy( BCA) organized the podcast.
o Meeting with Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Governor's Office) to discuss general updates on the JR project and solicit advice on how to approach and engage additional stakeholders.
o Meeting with Commissioner (ADOC), Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) and Public Information Officer (ADOC) to discuss general updates on the JR project, as well as ADOC's media messaging perspective and next steps moving forward.
o Meeting with Finance Chair (AL Senate), President (AL Senate) and Judiciary Chair (AL Senate) to share general updates on the JR project and next steps moving forward.
o Meeting with Executive Director (Alabama Sentencing Commission), Senior Research Analyst (Alabama Sentencing Commission) and Sentencing Worksheet Specialist (Alabama Sentencing Commission) to discuss general updates on the JR project and review preliminary sentencing data analysis.
o Roundtable with the County Policy Team on Prison Reform of ACCA to discuss the JR project and receive feedback on county level experiences and concerns with public safety, jails, CCPs, supervision practices, and access to behavioral health treatment.
o Meeting with Attorney (Redden, Mills, Clark & Shaw, LLP) and Attorney at Law (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP) to introduce them to the AL JR project. Both Attorneys were members of the previous Vera-led criminal justice taskforce.
• (08/29) Call with Senior Policy Counsel (Alabama Policy Institute) to provide a general update on the JR project and inquiring about potential lobbyists that the CSG Justice Center might be able to work with during the legislative process.

CSG Justice Center staff met with Alabama Sentencing Commission staff to obtain and learn about how to create the new AOC cohort file for FY13 and FY14 YTD. Prepared the file for matching to ADOC sentencing records, allowing the project to have the most recent data possible (up to June 2014). The analysis focused on the trends in sentences and sentence length.

CSG Justice Center staff created new offense categories to better explain the dispositions of personal and sex offenses. This new offense categorization will be utilized across multiple data sets.

Examined end-of-year prison population snapshot files to determine the composition of the on-hand ADOC population for multiple years - looking at offenses, ADOC jurisdictional location - and with the hopes of looking at LOS and mental health needs in the near future.

Much of the Alabama data is structured in a unique format. Connections between values across data sets are difficult to establish - even among data sets from the same provider.

Offenses are not similar across multiple state agencies and this makes comparisons difficult. CSG Justice Center staff created new offense indicators - category and violent - to make meaningful analyses.

• (08/01) Prepped data for fellow CSG Justice Center staff to access and explored ADOC data.
• (08/04) Continued with exploration of and orientation to ADOC data.
• (08/07) Discussed initial data analyses with fellow CSG Justice Center staff.
• (08/08) Sketched out sampling routine for pulling risk and needs data from paper supervision files.
• (08/11) Review of sentencing commission material in preparation for Alabama sentencing commission staff visit.
• (08/13) Began exploration of Sentencing Commission Data. Read through syntax to determine the process for creating a new cohort file. Began to work through the syntax with the data files provided to the CSG Justice Center by the Sentencing Commission.
• (08/14) Used syntax provided to the CSG Justice Center by the Alabama Sentencing Commission to create a sentence cohort file using their raw data.
• (08/14) Participated in meetings in Austin with Alabama Sentencing Commission staff for discussion of their raw sentencing data and also potential policy areas for improvement.
• (08/15) Used syntax provided to the Justice Center by the Alabama Sentencing Commission to create a sentence cohort file using their raw data.
• (08/18) Worked to determine the final sentence cohort file for FY13 and part of FY14 using the syntax and data provided to CSG Justice Center by the Alabama Sentencing Commission.
• (08/27) Generated analyses from fellow CSG Justice Center staff’s raw outputs for incorporation into presentation to the Taskforce.

National Public Radio - Political Adversaries Work to Reduce Alabama’s Prison Population(August 7, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser - Building More Prisons Not Real Option (August 8, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - How to Fix Alabama Prison Overcrowding? Here Are Ideas That Have Worked Elsewhere (August 20, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - Check Out the Most Telling Quotes from Experts on Alabama’s Prison Overcrowding (August 21, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - What would Texas do? 7 lessons on prison reform from someone that has been there (August 25, 2014)

On September 30th, Alabama’s 26-member Prison Reform Task Force held its second meeting, where CSG Justice Center staff presented an update on findings since the project officially launched in June and provided the first of CSG Justice Center’s detailed data analyses. The presentation focused on the following topics:

1. Since 2009, arrests, felony convictions, and sentences to prison all have declined. The presumptive property and drug sentencing guidelines, which went into effect last year, continued the trend of declining sentences to prison by reducing such sentences another 16 percent from 2013 to 2014 for covered offenses. Despite these front-end dynamics, prison overcrowding levels persist.

2. Declining parole rates are resulting in fewer releases, a growing backlog of parole-eligible cases still incarcerated, and longer prison stays for people convicted of property and drug offenses. As a result, a large number of individuals discharge from prison each year to no supervision. 34 percent of prison releases are individuals released to the community without any supervision.

3. 40 percent of prison admissions are individuals who were unsuccessful on community supervision, many for technical violations. With the front-end diverting more people to the community for supervision and the potential to put more on parole, it's important to make supervision practices as effective as possible. And with 40 percent of all prison admissions being failures from supervision, the indication is that there is room to strengthen and improve this part of the system.

Leading up to the Task Force meeting, CSG Justice Center staff reviewed a draft of the second Prison Reform Task Force presentation with staff from the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), Alabama Sentencing Commission, Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), and District 14 Senator, Chair of the Prison Reform Task Force and the Judiciary Committee of the Alabama Senate. CSG Justice Center staff continued to engage other criminal justice system stakeholders from various state agencies via emails, conference calls and in-person meetings.

• Efforts to obtain criminal history and arrest data from the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) began to solidify at the end of September. Unfortunately, CSG Justice Center will not be able to analyze re-arrest data during this project. Discussions between the Research staff at ACJIC and the CSG Justice Center revealed that the data systems of ACJIC, the Judiciary, ADOC, and ABPP do not use the same identifiers for individuals involved in the criminal justice system and thus, these systems do not speak to one another.
• Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of all felony cases are subject to the presumptive sentencing guidelines. This includes 64 percent of all property offenses and 95 percent of all drug offenses.
• Despite a drop of more than 10,000 arrests per year, sentences have only declined by a little over 3,000 between FY2009 and FY2013.
• Early indications are that presumptive sentencing guidelines have further reduced sentences to prison, with a 16 percent decline in prison admissions between 2013 and 2014.
• One-third of current property and drug inmates are eligible for release to parole.
• More than 1,000 parole-eligible property and drug inmates have been eligible for initial parole for one year or longer.
• The length of incarceration prior to parole has increased 43 percent. Parole violators are also experiencing increasing lengths of stay when brought back to prison, with an increase in length of stay in prison of 42 percent between FY2009 and FY2013. Also, the length of incarceration for those released to no supervision has increased by 38 percent and of those released from Alabama prisons in 2013, 34 percent were released to no supervision at all.
• Two-thirds of people in Alabama’s felony criminal justice system (67 percent) are being supervised in the community.
• The Alabama criminal justice system is experiencing significant recycling of offenders. In 2013, 40 percent of all admissions to ADOC custody were violators of either probation or parole.
• Probation, parole and community corrections surveys revealed that although risk assessments are typically carried out, the buy-in to using the risk scores to inform supervision level and manage caseloads is low. Less than one-quarter of survey respondents placed high value on risk assessment tools.
• Probation, parole and community corrections surveys suggest behavior health, substance abuse and cognitive behavioral treatment are difficult to access.

• (09/02) Call with Circuit Court Judge (Limestone County) to introduce him to the Justice Reinvestment project and to elicit his advice on how to best engage with circuit court judges during the fall.
• (09/02) Call with Administrative Director of the Courts (Alabama) to discuss the possibility of organizing a roundtable with circuit court judges.
• (09/03) Call with Vice President (Protective Life Insurance) / Former Chief of Staff to AL Governor to update him on the AL JR project and to solicit his advice on how to best engage the business community.
• Call with 32nd District State Representative to update her on the Task Force meeting and the AL Justice Reinvestment project. 32nd District State Representative is a Prison Reform Task Force member and was not able to attend the first meeting. She has been involved in the criminal justice issues, most recently as part of the Alabama Commission on Girls and Women in the Criminal Justice System.
• (09/03) Call with Executive Director (Sentencing Commission) to discuss potential meetings with the Chief Justice and circuit court judges.
• (09/05) Call with Consultant (Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence) to introduce her to the JR project and explore the possibility of an in person meeting with the AL Coalition Against Domestic Violence and other advocacy groups during the fall.
• (09/10) Call with Executive Director (Sentencing Commission) to discuss advocates meeting in Montgomery.
• (09/12) Call with Policy Counsel (ACLU) to discuss project status and possibility of advocates making a pitch to the Task Force.
• (09/16) Call with Legislative Aide (Office of District 14 State Senator) to discuss the agenda for the upcoming Prison Reform Task Force meeting.
• (09/18) Call with Assistant Attorney General (BPP) to discuss emerging parole data analysis findings.
• (09/24) Call with Assistant Attorney General (BPP) and Assistant Executive Director (BPP) to receive feedback on the second presentation draft for the Prison Reform Task Force meeting on September 30th.
• (09/25) Call with Judiciary Chair (Alabama State Senate) to receive feedback on the second presentation draft for the Prison Reform Task Force meeting on September 30th.
• (09/25) Call with Commissioner (ADOC) and Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) to receive feedback on the second presentation draft for the Prison Reform Task Force meeting on September 30th.
• (09/25) Call with Managing Attorney (SPLC) and President (SPLC) to discuss the analysis findings the CSG Justice Center will be presenting to the Prison Reform Task Force on September 30th, as well as policy options SPLC would like to be considered.
• (09/25) Call with Prisoner advocate (Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants) to introduce the CSG Justice Reinvestment project and learn about her experience and perspectives as a prisoner advocate. She will also be presenting to the Prison Reform Task Force meeting.
• (09/26) Call with Executive Director (Sentencing Commission) and Senior Policy Analyst (Sentencing Commission) to receive feedback on the second presentation draft for the Prison Reform Task Force meeting on September 30th.
• (09/26) Call with Prison Ministries Volunteer to introduce the Justice Reinvestment project and learn about his experience and perspectives as a volunteer minister in Alabama prisons. He will also be presenting at the Prison Reform Task Force meeting.
• (09/26) Call with two attorneys (Redden, Mills, Clark & Shaw, LLP and Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP), appointed as counsel to the Prison Reform Task Force, to discuss the analysis findings the CSG Justice Center will be presenting to the Task Force on September 30th.
• Call with Victim Advocate (VOCAL) to discuss the analysis findings the CSG Justice Center will be presenting to the Task Force on September 30th. She will also be presenting at the Prison Reform Task Force meeting.
• Onsite visit (09/29-09/30)
o Meeting with Executive Director (AL District Attorneys Association), Deputy Director (AL Office of Prosecution Services), 22nd Judicial Circuit District Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit District Attorney, and 9th Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney to receive feedback on the second presentation draft for the Prison Reform Task Force meeting on September 30th and discuss more frequent communication between CSG Justice Center and the district attorneys moving forward.
o Meeting with Executive Director (BPP), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), Assistant Executive Director (BPP), Director of Board of Operations (BPP) and Parole Board Member (BPP) to discuss the recent parole data analysis findings and the parole board review process.
o Second convening of the 26-member Alabama Prison Reform Task Force. The second presentation covered detailed analyses of sentencing, corrections, and supervision data and a discussion on the positive impact of the recently implemented presumptive sentencing guidelines for non-violent offenders, the significant backlog of the parole-eligible population within Alabama’s prison, and opportunities to strengthen supervision practices.

Business Council of Alabama’s Episode 1: Justice Reform in Alabama (September 5, 2014)
WBHM 90.3 FM - AL.com and WBHM Investigate Alabama’s Prison Problems (September 7, 2014)
WSFA.com - Overcrowded Al prisons still hold possible parolees for more than a year (September 30, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - Courts sentence fewer to prison, but revolving door keeps prisons packed (September 30, 2014)

Thoroughly analyzed ADOC data, exploring admissions, releases, snap shots, and sentences files. Merged files together after careful consideration of the dynamics of the system. Highlights of this month's activity include: creating a parole-eligibility indicator for those in the custody and in-house population; using movement/admission files to determine days past parole eligibility for the in-house and custody populations; exploring the nuances of the split sentence and the controlling sentence when it comes to parole eligibility; exploring the relationship between mental health/substance abuse needs and parole/probation revocation admissions.

The Alabama criminal justice system is complex. This was evidenced by nuances in the data that could only be determined through the CSG Justice Center's continued relationship with the Sentencing Commission as well as other key organizations.

• (09/03) Calculated parole-eligibility status for those on-hand on the last day of the year from 2008 to 2013 and on June 30, 2014. Worked on sentencing analyses slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/04) Calculated mental health and substance abuse needs for those admitted to prison for probation revocation or parole revocation and worked on sentencing analyses slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/05) Worked on sentencing analyses slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/08) Assembled sample file of PRs for ABPP to use in pulling risk/needs forms. Worked on sentencing analyses slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/09) Analyzed sentencing data.
• (09/10) CSG Justice Center research staff discussed data sets and brief analyses. Discussed ways to combine groups of admissions and releases to improve ease of analyses. Revised sample of PR#s to account for field office cross-reference by ABPP. Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/11) Restructured the snap shot data set to look at admissions differently. Recalculated the parole-eligibility status for those in custody or in house for the ADOC populations. Began to look at release data set in depth.
• (09/12) Created an enhanced releases file, matching admission type and movements to the original release file. Calculated length of stay upon release. Combined release types for more concise analysis. Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/15) Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/16) CSG Justice Center research staff discussion on new data analyses. Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/17) Worked on draft slides for the Task Force presentation.
• (09/19) CSG Justice Center research staff discussion on the data needs of the project. Discussed further ways to more concisely analyze release and snapshot data. Created a parole-eligible sample for analysis by Alabama data experts. Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/22) Reviewed feedback regarding the random sample of parole-eligible inmates, using the information gained to make changes in the analysis of parole eligibility. Aggregated the split sentence variable across all AIS SUF combinations to specify that all sentences would adhere to the split rule. Recalculated parole eligibility for the newly-defined eligible population.
• (09/23) Created a sample population for the Alabama data experts to once again review the parole-eligible population. Given the new eligible population, analyzed eligibility status by admission type, length of time eligible, offense, etc.
• (09/24) Reexamined the admissions data file, creating groupings similar to those established in the other data sets. Analyzed admissions by type.
• (09/26) Created a data set with the AIS, name, DOB, race, and sex of each person in the ADOC file. Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation. Analysis of habitual sentencing for offense types subject to presumptive guidelines. Analysis looked at both pre- and post-guidelines presumptive date.
• (09/27) Created a data entry template for capturing jail survey response data.
• Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/28) Worked on draft slides for the September Task Force presentation.
• (09/29) Finalized slides for the September Task Force presentation.

In October, CSG Justice Center staff conducted several follow-up meetings and calls with Prison Reform Taskforce members and key stakeholders to receive their feedback about the second Taskforce presentation, including staff from the Department of Corrections (DOC), staff from the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), the Alabama District Attorneys Association, Governor’ office, individual members of the Taskforce, the Equal Justice Initiative, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Overall, individuals providing feedback to CSG Justice Center staff said that the findings were expected, though the extent of current policy impacts was surprising. For example, prosecutors had not realized how impactful the presumptive nonviolent felony guidelines had been since implementation. And with the data analysis showing a clear backlog of prison releases, many stakeholders expressed interest in learning more about the parole process.

To continue the analysis of the parole decision-making process and overall criminal justice system in Alabama, CSG Justice Center staff prepared for two upcoming site visits. This included developing a Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) Work Plan proposal to visit and engage parole board members and BPP staff to learn more about the factors that influence parole board members’ decisions and also processes around responding to parole violators. Also, CSG Justice Center staff scheduled for November two victim advocate roundtables in Montgomery and Birmingham, a presentation and discussion with Alabama’s community corrections program directors at their monthly meeting, a podcast with Senator Ward for the Business Council of Alabama, and planned a correctional facility site visit and roundtable discussion with individuals who are incarcerated.

As part of the BPP Work Plan, CSG Justice Center staff requested and received additional data samplings from BPP to explore the parole eligibility and hearing statuses of individuals incarcerated within ADOC, reasons why parole violators return to prison, as well as distributing a survey for parole board members to document reasons for parole denial.

Finally, CSG Justice Center staff dedicated time to reaching out to Alabama stakeholders to attend the upcoming Justice Reinvestment Summit.

• A key inquiry from district attorneys regarding contributors to the slowdown in the parole-release process involves a “hardening” of the prison population in recent years. As part of the Workplan submitted to BPP, electronic criminal history records will be obtained for those parole eligible populations in 2009 and also 2014. The criminal history will be used to assess whether current parole eligible populations are in fact a more “hardened” population by virtue of their prior criminal histories.
• A survey was distributed to Parole Board members to document reasons for denial. Prior to using the survey, board members asked that “nature of the offense” and “sentence/amount of time served” be added as factors considered for denial. This request suggests parole board members may be re-sentencing individuals when issuing denials.

• Onsite visit (10/01)
o Roundtable discussion with Chief Justice (Alabama Supreme Court), Administrative Director (Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts) and eleven circuit court judges to introduce them to the JR project and elicit their perspectives on sentencing and supervision practices.
o Meeting with Chief Justice (Alabama Supreme Court) and Administrative Director (Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts) to discuss policy ideas to address the prison overcrowding dilemma.
o Meeting with District 14 Senator (AL Senate) / Chair (Judiciary Committee) and Legislative Aide (Office of District 14 Senator) to discuss timing of the next Taskforce meeting and policy option development.
o Meeting with Executive Director (Alabama Coalition Against Sexual Violence) to discuss ways the victim advocacy groups can be part of the Justice Reinvestment process.
• (10/06) Call with the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyer Association, including Defense Attorneys from Tuscaloosa, Montgomery (3), and Birmingham to receive their feedback on the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting and ideas surrounding sentencing, parole and supervision practices.
• (10/09) Call with Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Governor's Office) to follow up after the Second Prison Reform Taskforce presentation and to discuss strategy for engaging with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles.
• (10/09) Call with Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) and Interim Assistant Director (ADOC) to discuss the CSG Justice Center participating in the monthly CCP meeting.
• (10/17) Call with Legislative Fiscal Analyst (State of Alabama Legislative Fiscal Office) to discuss the JR project's timeline and policy development language. She is the draft attorney the CSG Justice Center will be working with on policy development.
• (10/20) Call with Consultant (Alabama Coalition Against Sexual Assault) to introduce the Justice Reinvestment project and to invite her to the upcoming victim advocate roundtables.
• (10/20) Call with Commissioner (ADOC) and Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) to receive feedback from the last Prison Reform Taskforce meeting, discuss CSG Justice Center's upcoming engagement with BPP, and possibility of visiting a prison facility to meet with individuals who have direct experience with parole process.
• (10/20) Call with Assistant Attorney General (BPP) and Assistant Executive Director (BPP), Director of Board Operations (BPP), Assistant Executive Director (BPP) and others to discuss the CSG Justice Center workplan proposal, including data collection challenges and a survey for parole board members to use to collect reasons behind parole denials.
• (10/21) Call with District 14 Senator (AL Senate) / Chair (Judiciary Committee) to discuss the JR project's timeline, third Taskforce presentation themes and legislative strategy.
• (10/21) Call with Executive Director (AL District Attorneys Association), Deputy Director (AL Office of Prosecution Services), 22nd Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney, and 9th Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney to receive feedback from the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting, and share CSG Justice Center's work plan with BPP to collect more information.
• (10/23) Call with Director (Alabama Law Institute) / Prison Reform Taskforce Member to discuss his feedback from the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting, the ALI's criminal code consolidation legislation, and receive his input on the political landscape.
• (10/28) Call with Director (EJI) and Attorney (EJI) to receive their feedback from the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting, and discuss the next steps of the JR project, including engagement of the Parole Board.
• (10/28) Call with Managing Attorney (SPLC) and President (SPLC) to receive their feedback from the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting, and discuss the next steps of the JR project, including engagement of the Parole Board.
• (10/29) Call with Consultant (MacArthur Foundation) to discuss a possible juvenile justice initiative that the MacArthur Foundation is spearheading in Alabama and how the initiative may cross thematic paths with the Justice Reinvestment project.
• (10/29) Call with District 70 Representative (Alabama House of Representatives) to update him on the second Prison Reform Taskforce meeting.
• (10/30) Call with Director (Alabama Department of Public Safety) to discuss the barriers facing some formerly incarcerated individuals in getting their drivers licenses after reentering society.
• (10/30) Call with Member (Prison Reform Taskforce) and Attorney (Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP) to receive their feedback from the second Prison Taskforce meeting and discuss the upcoming Parole Board engagement and next steps with the Justice Reinvestment project.

ABC 3340 - Alabama Prison Reform Taskforce Meets to Address Prison Overcrowding, Other Issues (October 2014)
The Huntsville Times - Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange Calls Prison System ‘Broken,’ Talks Lethal Injection (October 3, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser - All Easy Prison Options are Gone (October 3, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser - Fewer Inmates in Alabama are Being Released Early (Otcober 12, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser - Lack of Community Supervision Leads to High Recidivism (October 25, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser - Sentencing Changes Impact Prison Admissions (October 19, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - As Prison Populations Rise Nationwide, Alabama and Other States Tackle Reform (October 22, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - Study Argues Alabama’s Incarceration Rate – Up 349 Percent – Crowding Out Other Priorities (October 28, 2014)
The Huntsville Times - The Alabama Prison Reform Lexicon: Opinion (October 16, 2014)

In October, ongoing analyses on the prison release data revealed that for two of the high-volume offense categories, property and drug, people released to parole are spending two-and three-times longer in prison compared to individual released just a few years ago. Further analysis was completed for those released to parole, examining the differences between prison admissions for parole violations and those entering by other means. There is a lot more analysis to come as the more in-depth analysis of parole board practices is underway and will be finalized in November.

CSG Justice Center staff were asked by District 32 Representative (Member, Prison Reform Taskforce) to provide the gender and race/ethnicity breakdown for individuals currently incarcerated within ADOC. CSG Justice Center staff examined the ADOC cohorts by race and gender and compiled data from the US Census Bureau regarding race and gender breakdowns in all Alabama counties.

• (10/06) CSG Justice Center staff discussed data analysis modifications needed on parole eligible populations.
• (10/13) CSG Justice Center staff analyzed parole eligibility by offense type and sentence length. Additionally, CSG Justice Center staff examined the particular offenses held past parole eligibility for longer than one year by offense for 2009 and 2014.
• (10/16) CSG Justice Center staff reviewed latest parole analyses.
• (10/17) CSG Justice Center staff analyzed the parole eligibility/release status of certain offenses by admission type.
• (10/22) CSG Justice Center staff discussion on the desired analyses of parole/probation supervision snapshot population and terminations case data.
• (10/24) CSG Justice Center staff created and reviewed sample files of parole eligible populations from 2009 and 2014.
• (10/25) CSG Justice Center staff reviewed previous data runs, exploring population, admissions, and releases by race and gender.
• (10/29) CSG Justice Center staff matched admission, movement, and release datasets to calculate the rate at which those exiting the ADOC jurisdictional population returned to custody or in-house placements.
• (10/31) CSG Justice Center staff explored the possibility of accurately calculating the amount of time released inmates were held beyond the date of parole eligibility.

In November, CSG Justice Center staff held two site visits to Alabama and attended the Justice Reinvestment Summit in San Diego with key Alabama stakeholders. The month ended with preparation for the third Prison Reform Taskforce presentation on December 11th.

The first site visit focused on observing the parole board’s decision-making process. To this end, CSG Justice Center staff traveled to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) to observe parole board reviews, parole eligibility and revocation hearings and met with parole board members and administrative leadership. CSG Justice Center staff also conducted focus groups with small groups of parole officers to better understand the parole revocation process and reentry process. Lastly, CSG Justice Center staff met with leadership at the Department of Corrections (ADOC) to discuss their role in preparing inmates for parole, as well as possible policy changes to Community Corrections Programs (CCP).

During the second site visit, CSG Justice Center staff recorded the second in an on-going series of Business Council of Alabama podcasts with Senator Ward, presented at the monthly CCP meeting, facilitated two victim advocate roundtable discussions in Birmingham and in Montgomery, and toured a correctional facility and interviewed inmates on their experiences with the parole board and supervision in the community.

In late November, an Alabama delegation also attended the Justice Reinvestment National Summit in San Diego to learn about the successes and challenges that other JR states experienced in the past and to discuss the next steps for Alabama’s JR project. Attendees from Alabama included Commissioner, (ADOC), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), Director (Jefferson County CCP), 27th Circuit Judge, Executive Director (BPP), Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Office of the Governor), Administrative Director (Administrative Office of the Courts), Crime Victims’ Advocate (Victims of Crime and Leniency), and Executive Director, (Alabama Sentencing Commission).

A statewide judicial circuit court survey was distributed to improve understanding of sentencing practices and responses to supervision violations in Alabama. Key takeaways include that 82 percent of judges said everyone released from prison should have at least a minimal amount of supervision, and 73 percent of judges would like to see a clear legal framework established to allow for use of swift and certain sanctioning of probationers.

• Onsite (11/03-11/05)
o Meeting with Director of Board Operations (BPP), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), Assistant Executive Director (BPP), and Board Operations Manager (BPP) to discuss and understand how BPP staff prepare files for the parole board members.
o Observation of Parole Board Member (BPP) reviewing parole eligible files, including individuals revoked to prison on parole violations, in preparation for the next day’s parole board hearings.
o Meeting with institutional parole officers to discuss and understand their interview process and report collection for parole-eligible inmates.
o Meeting with Commissioner (ADOC) and Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) to discuss 3rd District Senator’s bill on consolidation of ADOC and BPP, as well as the upcoming CSG Justice Center presentation at the monthly CCP meeting.
o Meeting with Assistant Attorney General (BPP) to discuss the institutional culture of BPP, including the parole board’s legal interpretation of existing state statutes.
o Full day observation of Alabama parole board hearings for parole-eligible and pardon cases.
o Meeting with 3 Parole Board Members (BPP) to discuss their parole board hearing process for parole-eligible, revocation and pardon cases, as well as receive input from board members of what policy changes they are interested in.
o Meeting with Director of Board Operations (BPP) and Assistant Attorney General (BPP) to discuss the data sampling challenges and identify possible solutions.
o Meeting with Executive Director (BPP) and Assistant Attorney General (BPP) to hear the Executive Director’s perspectives and recommendations for BPP as she prepares to retire.
o Meeting with seven parole hearing officers to discuss and understand the BPP revocation process.
o Meeting with Commissioner (ADOC), Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) and other staff to discuss institutional programming with ADOC facilities, the current status of implementing the risk assessment tool into ADOC practices, and the inmate time-calculation updates in regards to outstanding/pending cases.
• (11/06) Call with Warden (Staton Correctional Facility), Commissioner (ADOC) and Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) to discuss the upcoming site-visit at Staton Correctional Facility that will include a focus group with inmates on their experience with parole and community supervision.
• (11/06) Call with 3rd District Senator / Finance Chair (Alabama State Senate) to discuss his bill on consolidating BPP into DOC and possible policy changes to CCPs.
• (11/07) Call with 33rd District Senator (Alabama State Senate) / Member of Prison Reform Task Force) to update her on the JR project and check-in before the Justice Reinvestment Summit.
• (11/07) Call with Government Affairs Consultant (Fine & Geddie) to discuss the contract details for Fine & Geddie representing the JR project in Alabama starting in January 2015.
• (11/10) Call with 14th District Senator / Judiciary Chair (Alabama Senate) to update him on the parole board engagement and to discuss possible policy options and the upcoming podcast with the Business Council of Alabama.
• Onsite (11/10-11/13)
o Podcast recording for the Business Alliance of Alabama (BCA) with 14th District Senator / Judiciary Chair (Alabama Senate) and organized by Vice President (BCA) to update the business community on the JR project in Alabama.
o Roundtable discussion and presentation at the monthly CCP meeting on the possible expanding of CCPs, promoting greater incorporation of evidence-based practices, expanding CCPs’ role in connecting individuals on supervision to treatment, and prioritizing resources for high-risk individuals.
o Meeting with Director (Birmingham CCP) to discuss possible policy options on incentivizing greater incorporating of evidence-based practices and expanding CCPs roles to connecting individuals to treatment.
o Roundtable discussion with victim advocate groups in Birmingham around the JR project in Alabama and possible areas to improve for victims, including restitution collection.
o Tour of Staton Correctional Facility, a medium-level security facility in Elmore, Alabama and focus group with five currently incarcerated individuals on their experience with parole process and supervision in the community.
o Roundtable discussion with victim advocate groups in Montgomery around the JR project in Alabama and possible areas to improve for victims, including restitution collection.
• Onsite (11-17-11/19)
o Meeting at the JR Summit with 33rd District Senator (Alabama State Senate), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), Director (Jefferson County CCP), 27th Circuit Judge, Assistant Executive Director (BPP), Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Office of the Governor), Administrative Director of Courts (Administrative Office of the Courts), Crime Victims’ Advocate (VOCAL) and Executive Director (AL Sentencing Commission) to discuss relevant presentations and counterparts in other states for Alabama stakeholders to attend and engage with during the conference.
o Meeting at the JR Summit with Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Office of the Governor) to discuss the challenges Alabama faces, including the need for additional resources for the criminal justice system.
o Meeting at the JR Summit with Commissioner (ADOC), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), Director (Jefferson County CCP), 27th Circuit Judge, Assistant Executive Director (BPP), Deputy Legal Advisor (AL Office of the Governor), Administrative Director of Courts (Administrative Office of the Courts), Crime Victims’ Advocate (VOCAL), and Executive Director (AL Sentencing Commission) to recap on the conference and discuss key takeaways, including policy framework ideas around community corrections.
o Meeting at the JR Summit with Commissioner (NC Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice), Commissioner (ADOC) and Assistant Attorney General (BPP) to discuss North Carolina’s consolidation of criminal justice agencies and lessons learned that might help inform Alabama’s current discussion of ADOC and BPP consolidation.

Business Council of Alabama Podcast - Justice Reform in Alabama Episode 4
The Anniston Star – Officials see link between parole board practice and prison overcrowding (November 8, 2014)
Center for Prison Reform – Alabama Baptists Call for Prison Reform (November 14, 2014)
Wiat.com – Should child sex offenders receive rehabilitation in prison? (November 24, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser – Can Thomas lead reforms at DOC? (November 14, 2014)

This month, CSG Justice Center staff closely inspected the relationship between parole eligibility, length of stay, and return to custody.

The analyses reveal that across all offense types and even when controlling for sentence lengths imposed by the courts, the parole board is keeping parole eligible, nonviolent property and drug cases in prison twice as long compared to FY2009.

Also, analysis of reincarceration rates indicates that holding individuals in prison longer and longer beyond their parole eligibility dates does not reduce recidivism rates.

• (11/06) Reviewed prior data requests in preparation for a project call regarding parole data.
• (11/07) Discussed latest data analyses internally with on parole and end of sentence length of stay and return to prison and on probation and parole supervision data.
• (11/10) Further explored the relationship of admissions, sentences, and movements for those released before their parole eligibility date.
• (11/12) Further examined the reasons why an inmate might be released before their parole eligibility date. Matched entire records form sentences and admissions files to the releases files. There is a high likelihood that overwriting in the system contributes to what appears to be releases before eligibility. (The minimum release date is likely auto populated based on the sentence date.)
• (11/13) Further examined the reasons why an inmate might be released before their parole eligibility date. Matched entire records from sentences and admissions files to the releases files. There is a high likelihood that overwriting in the system contributes to what appears to be releases before eligibility. (The minimum release date is likely auto populated based on the sentence date.) Updated/created new spreadsheets to show the different ways to examine the days past parole eligibility data CSG Justice Center staff currently have.
• (11/14) Discussed latest data analyses internally on probation and parole supervision data.
• (11/17) Further explored the relationship between the days an inmate was kept past parole eligibility and their sentence length.
• (11/21) Coded for various offense levels to determine how changes to the law regarding offense level and sentencing options/restrictions would impact length of stay.
• (11/21) Calculated the length of stay for custody or in-house inmates by sentence length, offense, release year, and admit type.
• (11/25) Reviewing recent data analyses for incorporating into 12/11 presentation.
• (11/25) Identified the return to custody rates by length of stay for those sentenced to 60 months and entering custody or in-house status on a new or probation violation admission.
• (11/26) Explored the relationship between parole violators returning to custody and the reason for their re-entry. Merged admissions, sentences, releases, and release sentences files together to analyze our potential to identify if a new offense or technical violation caused the return to custody.

In December, CSG Justice Center staff held one site visit to Alabama for the third Prison Reform Taskforce meeting. The month ended with developing the recommended policy framework and preparing for several presentations in January, including the fourth Prison Reform Taskforce presentation.

The site visit included a meeting with the Governor, District 14 Senator and his staff to update the Governor on the progress and findings of the JR initiative, provide likely policy recommendations and get a sense of the level of support of the Governor’s office moving forward. CSG Justice Center staff also had a roundtable conversation with county officials and sheriffs about swift and sure policies. Lastly, CSG Justice Center staff presented at the 3rd Prison Reform Task Force meeting.

At the end of the month, CSG Justice Center staff began preparing for several upcoming site visits in January and February, as well as continuing development of a policy framework and the respective modeling projection impacts.

• Prison remains most used disposition type for felony convictions
• Two-thirds of sentences to prison are for property and drug offenses
• Alabama treats low-level property crime more severely than other southern states
• Property and drug cases now being held by the Board twice as long prior to release
• Board’s reasons for denial often focus on factors also considered at original sentencing
• Data suggest parole release delays are not benefiting public safety as those held longer (when controlling for offense type and imposed sentence length) have higher recidivism rates
• Probation revocations to prison up 47 percent since FY2009
• Current approach to sanctioning violators is costly and ineffective
• Lack of evidence-based practices for supervision has significant cost and public safety implications
• CSG Justice Center staff are working with leadership at the Governor’s office to explore the possibility of the Governor speaking at one or both of the upcoming Prison Reform Task Force meetings.

• (12/02) Call with Administrative Director (AL Administrative Office of the Courts) to discuss his takeaways from the JR Summit in San Diego and ideas that may be applicable to Alabama.
• (12/02) Call with District 14 Senator / Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) to discuss the upcoming meetings with ACCA and the Prison Reform Task Force, as well as broaching how to handle Rep. Boyd’s request for racial and gender breakdowns for Alabama’s prison system.
• (12/08) Call with Commissioner (ADOC) and Deputy Commissioner (ADOC) to review and receive feedback on the upcoming presentation to the Prison Reform Task Force.
• (12/09) Call with Deputy Legal Counsel (BPP), Executive Director (BPP), Assistant Executive Director (BPP) and Director of Board Operations (BPP) to review and receive feedback on the upcoming presentation to the Prison Reform Task Force.
• (12/09) Call with Senior Policy Analyst (Sentencing Commission) to review and receive feedback on the upcoming presentation to the Prison Reform Task Force.
• (12/09) Call with Deputy Legal Director (Governor’s Office) and District 14 Senator / Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) to discuss the upcoming meeting with Governor Bentley.
• Site Visit (12/10-12/12)
o Meeting with the Governor, and District 14 Senator / Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate), Deputy Legal Director (Governor’s Office), Deputy Director of Legislative Relations, Senate Liaison (Governor’s Office) and Director of Communications (AL Governor’s Office) to discuss the JR project, including key findings and likely policy recommendations.
o Meeting with sheriffs and county elected officials at a ACCA roundtable to discuss how a state-wide swift and sure response to supervision violations can help county jails.
o Meeting with the ACLU, EJI, SPLC and other advocacy groups to receive their input and ideas for policy framework recommendations.
o Meeting with District 14 Senator / Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate), District 3 Senator / Finance Chair (AL State Senate), Deputy Legal Director (Governor’s Office), Deputy Director of Legislative Relations, Senate Liaison (Governor’s Office) to share the likely JR core package and discuss what areas are least politically palatable.
o Third convening of the 26-member Alabama Prison Reform Task Force. The third presentation covered detailed analyses and discussion including (1) prison remaining the most used disposition for felony convictions, with two-thirds of sentences to prison for property and drug offenses; (2) property and drug cases are being held twice as long prior to release by the Board and data suggests parole release delays are not benefiting public safety; (3) and the current approach to sanctioning individuals who violate their supervision is costly and ineffective.
o Meeting with Executive Director (AL District Attorneys Association), Deputy Director (AL Office of Prosecution Services), 22nd Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney, Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney, and 9th Judicial Circuit of AL District Attorney to receive feedback from the third Prison Reform Taskforce meeting and discuss next steps moving forward.
• (12/15) Call with Emeritus Professor (University of Alabama) to discuss the JR project. The professor was recommended to the CSG Justice Center team by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• (12/15) Call with Deputy Legal Counsel (BPP) to receive her input from the third Prison Reform Task Force meeting and discuss next steps.
• (12/16) Call with Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) to receive his input from the third Prison Reform Task Force meeting and discuss next steps, including the timing of the fourth and fifth Prison Reform Task Force.
• (12/17) Call with Senior Research Associate (Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama) to discuss the JR Project, an upcoming February meeting of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama where District 14 Senator / Judiciary Chair (AL State Senate) and Executive Director (AL Sentencing Commission) will talk, as well as an upcoming opinion poll about Alabama criminal justice policies.
• (12/17) Call with Director (The Ordinary People Society and Free Alabama Movement) to discuss the criminal justice system in Alabama and the JR project. The Director was referred to the CSG Justice Center team by District 33 Senator and was initially considered to be a member of the Prison Reform Task Force. He was previously incarcerated, is involved at the national level on criminal justice issues and had a range of recommendations/suggestions he wanted to share.
• (12/18) Call with Executive Director (Dannon Project) to discuss the JR project and victim advocacy issues in Alabama. Sunny Slaughter referred Kerri Pruitt to the CSG Justice Center team. The Dannon Project is a reentry program for individuals under parole supervision.
• (12/18) Call with Vice President (Alabama Policy Institute) to receive her reactions from the third Prison Reform Task Force and the possibility of the Alabama Policy Institute endorses specific CSG Justice Center policy recommendations via an op-ed.
• (12/18) Call with Deputy Legal Director (Governor’s Office) to discuss the possibility of having the Governor attend one or more of the upcoming Prison Reform Task Force meetings.
• (12/19) Call with Advocate (VOCAL) to receive her reactions from the third Prison Reform Task Force and likely CSG Justice Center recommendations, including mandatory, involuntary supervision for all individuals released from prison.
• Call with Deputy Legal Counsel (BPP), Assistant Attorney General (BPP), and Executive Director (AL Sentencing Commission) to discuss the nuances of Alabama Code for parole eligibility.

Daily Mountain Eagle – Association hosts annual work session (September 2014)
The Huntsville Times – Alabama needs more parole officers to help relieve prison crowding, state task force told (December 11, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser – Alabama sorely needs more parole officers (December 15, 2014)
Montgomery Advertiser – Thomas, staff do fine work at DOC (December 2015)
The Huntsville Times – Chief Justice Roy Moore call Huntsville City Council’s prayer policy ‘foolish’
The Huntsville Times – Legislators could see prison bill by January – Here are some options under consideration (December 20, 2014)
The Huntsville Times – Our view: Action is required and prison reform must start with new leadership for Alabama’s prisons (December 28, 2014)
The Huntsville Times – System lacks mercy, says Roy Moore, and ‘I’m not a liberal’ – the investigations, conversations and struggles that shaped prison reform in 2014. (December 28, 2014)

Completed the last phases of data analyses for Alabama policy options and final presentations. The last phases of data analyses included calculating new offense violation/revocation rates, analyzing length of stay by admission types, exploring sentences by county for F20Y13 and FY2014, exploring sentences by class and reorganizing previously analyzed data.

One interesting insight is that a large amount of parole violators and probation revocations appear to be the result of technical violations.

• (12/01) Analyzed return to prison rates for those sentenced to prison for 60 months and 120 months and released on parole. Explored the relationship between jail time and good time served for individuals released on parole earlier than anticipated.
• (12/02) Created data sets for the Alabama Sentencing Commission to match with court records in order to determine prior offense history.
• (12/03) Created files to be matched by the Alabama Sentencing Commission to explore the prior offense history of offenders under the jurisdiction of ADOC.
• (12/04) Further explored the capabilities of determining a reason for parole violator returns to prison using the ADOC data on hand. Finally decided that this analysis would be impossible given the information provided.
• (12/07) Explored the data sets received from the Alabama Sentencing Commission.
Explored the worksheets data sets to determine how many cases fit the hypothetical sentencing situations to be discussed in the December 11th presentation to the Task Force.
• (12/08) Reviewed felony conviction files prepared by the Alabama Sentencing Commission. Discussed the files with staff from the commission. Explored possible ways to match files using a combination of name, date of birth, race, sex, and AOC variables.
• (12/09) Used the data match prepared by the Alabama Sentencing Commission to review the number of prior convictions for offenders eligible for parole for over one year in FY2009 and FY2014. Calculated the re-conviction rates for those released from ADOC custody and in-house.
• (12/10) Calculated and analyzed reconviction rates for all release types (not including death, execution, escape, or other administrative releases). Analyzed this data by admission type, release type, etc.
• (12/11) Analyzed the on-hand population, by year, by admission type, both on a granular level and by overarching admission types.
• (12/23) Reorganized previously completed analyses on LOS, admission, and sentence cohorts.
• (12/28) Continued work on reorganizing previously completed analyses on LOS, admission, and sentence cohorts.
• (12/29) Began to analyze the relationship between the recently acquired sentencing file and the releases/admissions ADOC files to determine who entered ADOC facilities on technical violations or for a new offense (of parole violators and probation revocations).
• (12/30) Reorganized previously completed analyses on LOS, admission, and sentence cohorts.
• (12/31) Continued to determine if CSG Justice Center could analyze the number of parole violators/probation revocations under ADOC jurisdiction who were admitted for a technical violation or new offense.