National Institute of Corrections Library

Factors leading to a reduction in the number of prisoners in New South Wales (NSW) following a fifteen year increase of 65% are ascertained. sections of this brief include: introduction; changes in remand and sentenced prisoner populations; changes in the offence profile of sentenced prisoners; changes in the number of offenders convicted; changes in the percentage of offenders sentenced to prison; changes in sentence length; summarizing the changes; and conclusion. “Corrections data showed that the decrease in the prison population was limited to sentenced prisoners and was driven by a reduction in the number of offenders serving sentences for Assault, Break and enter, Theft and Traffic offences. Break and enter, Theft and Assault, prisoners appear to have decreased, in part, because the incidence of these offences have fallen. There have also been moves away from the use of imprisonment as a penalty for each of the four offences whether because fewer offenders are being imprisoned or because the average sentence length has fallen” (p. 1). SOURCE: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Canberra, NSW). Authored by Fitzgerald, Jacqueline; Corben, Simon.

This is a great introduction to the process by which an organization can evaluate whether a program is evidence-based is explained. “Although this guide grows out of and is targeted to juvenile justice practitioners, it is generally applicable to programs in other social service fields as well. It also bears noting that the steps described here are neither simple nor easy. Nevertheless, they are worth undertaking—even if a program does not complete the entire process, any progress along the way is likely to be beneficial” (p. 3). This publication explains: what an outcome evaluation is; why you need an outcome evaluation; who to prepare for an outcome evaluation; conducting an outcome evaluation; process evaluation—step one—whether the program is true to its original plan, step 2—the elements of an outcome evaluation, and step 3—the next steps after an outcome evaluation; and what statistical significance means. SOURCE: Vera Institute of Justice. Center on Youth Justice (New York, NY). Authored by Fratello, Jennifer; Kapur, Tarika Daftary; Chasan, Alice.

This report explains how the use of cook-chill food services in county correctional facilities is an effective way to provide food services to inmates in the most efficient way possible. “Under the Cook-Chill process, large quantities of food are cooked to a just-done state, then chilled rapidly and stored under tightly controlled temperature conditions. The food is then shipped and requires only reheating in order to be served, with an average ordering-to-consumption window of about three weeks. The majority of the food is shipped in large, sealed plastic bags and is reheated at the prisons for serving. Other cold food items, including juice and salads, are packaged in individual serving containers. The typical Cook-Chill bulk items come in 20-portion bags” (p. 4). The major part of this report looks at: potential cost savings; cost savings; other long-range operational improvements; and recommendations. Counties in New York have the potential to save over $11 million per year by using cook-chill processing. SOURCE: New York. Office of the State Comptroller. Division of Local Government and School Accountability (Albany, NY).

Anyone interested in the history of the National Institute of Corrections' Jails Division (since its creation in 1976) will find this article very interesting. Topics covered include: jail administration'training programs and networks, documents and DVDs, and technical assistance; inmate behavior management'training, documents and DVDs, and technical assistance; new jail planning'technical assistance and training and documents and DVDs; and jail standards and inspections. SOURCE: National Institute of Corrections. Jails Division (Washington, DC). Authored by Hutchinson, Virginia.