Essential Principles of Criminal Justice Planning In Philadelphia

1. Essential Principles of Criminal Justice Planning In Philadelphia Presentation to the Essential Services Coalition of Philadelphia By Leon A. King II, Esq. Paul Heroux MS, MSc

2. Your Presenters • Leon A King, II, Esquire • Associate Teaching Professor of Criminal Justice, Drexel University • Commissioner of Philadelphia Prisons from, 2002-2008 • General Counsel Philadelphia Prisons, 1997-2002 • Deputy City Solicitor, Civil Rights and Labor, 1993-2002 • Paul Heroux, MS, MSc • MPA candidate, Harvard Kennedy School of Government • Director of Research and Planning, Massachusetts Department of Correction, 2008-2009 • Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Philadelphia Prison System, 2006-2008

3. Commissioned or Authored Reports Intermediate Punishments, Massachusetts Department of Correction, 2009 Overcrowding Trend Analysis, Massachusetts Department of Correction, 2008- Paul Heroux, MS, MSc Inmate Services Report, Philadelphia Prisons – Dugan Associates, LLC 2008 Reincarceration in Philadelphia Prison System 2008 – Paul Heroux, MS, MSc Prison Population Report and Recommendations to Mayor Michael A. Nutter – Leon A King, II, Esq. 2007 Overcrowding Trend Analysis, Philadelphia Prisons, 2007- Paul Heroux, MS, MSc Confinement in the Justice Process in Philadelphia, Temple University, 2006 – (Goldkamp) Instituting Lasting Reforms for Prisoner Reentry in Philadelphia, Urban Institute, 2006 Prison Healthcare Project, Dugan Associates, LLC, 2006 Police and Prison Intake Operations, Dugan Associates, LLC 2006

4. Goal • In Philadelphia we can: • Reduce the prison population, • save taxpayer’s dollars, • create jobs and economic opportunity, and • enhance public safety

5. Philadelphia Criminal Justice Myths • The increase in the prison census is caused by an increase in crime. • Recidivism is the cause of overcrowding. • The prison population is constant, unchanging figure. • Keeping inmates locked up longer will deter them from committing more crime after release. • Reducing the prison population by one inmate saves the City about $35,000 per year per inmate. • We can build our way out of crime and prison overcrowding. • The Prison population consists of mostly violent offenders.

6. 1. Myth Busted: The increase in the prison census is not caused by an increase in crime

7. 2. Myth Busted: Recidivism is not the cause of overcrowding Reincarceration (recidivism) in Philadelphia trended down between 2000 and 2006. Reincarceration and recidivism are not responsible for the growth in the prison population.

8. 3. Myth Busted: The prison population is not a constant, unchanging figure The Prison population has grown 3-4% annually for the past decade.

9. 4. Myth Busted: Keeping inmates locked up longer does not appear todeter them from committing more crime after release.

10. 5. Myth Busted: Reducing the prison population by one inmate doesn’t save the City about $35,000 per inmate per year… when fixed and variable costs are calculated.

11. Classification matters!

12. 6. Myth Busted: We can’t build our way out of crime and prison overcrowding. It is well known that building more jails and prisons does not result in a decrease; as Philadelphia built more prisons we housed more inmates and we didn’t see a decrease in crime. There are however, numerous examples of jurisdictions where a decrease in the prison population preceded a decrease in crime. At one point during the past 10 years, these included: New York City, New York State, San Diego County, the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Maryland, Texas and Delaware. We cannot build our way out of a prison population crisis or citywide crime problem.

13. 7. Myth Busted: The Prison population does not consist of mostly violent offenders.

14. What Causes PPS Overcrowding

15. What Causes PPS Overcrowding

16. How to Implement better Criminal Justice Planning • The “community” needs to send a consistent and powerful message to unconvinced or wavering politicians that reducing the Prison population and providing alternatives is what we want (the DA and Judiciary) • Get the new District Attorney to implement a new charging policy based on past data from the Prison • The Criminal Justice Advisory Board needs to immediately hire a coordinator and related staff • Establish the number and type of inmates held at the Prison and commit to not building any new prisons • Commit to reducing length of stay (LOS) from 90 days to 60 days • Commit to closing the House of Correction (HOC) • Use the money saved from reducing LOS and closing HOC to: • Reduce the City’s budgetary commitments • Generally investing in anything that speeds up the time it takes to adjudicate a case • Invest in diversionary programs, i.e. Community Court, Day Reporting • Expand Drug Court • Expand Mental Health Court • Invest in increased Probation and Parole staff to help reduce recidivism • Set up monitoring system for bail guidelines

17. The Essential Elements of any Programs Designed to Reduce the Prison Budget • Must be evidence-based • Specific criteria must be agreed to that is taken from actual data at the Prison • Classification • Budgetarily significant pools of candidates • Establish goals that relate to length of stay • Establish goals that relate to recidivism • Proper monitoring to ensure goals are being met