Publications

Juvenile Justice System Risk Level and Response Risk in the Juvenile Justice System is defined as the risk to reoffend — or the risk of repeating similar or more serious behavior. When youth are brought to Juvenile Court or Juvenile Justice and Youth Services (JJYS), they are assessed using a validated risk (or risk/need) assessment (PSRA or PRA). Other youth-serving

Overview: This report evaluates the characteristics and outcomes of individuals under AP&P supervision that are classified as habitual offenders, as defined by SB213. Senate Bill 213 (SB213) classifies individuals with six or more felony convictions within the past five years as habitual offenders. This report examines the characteristics and outcomes of habitual offenders under AP&P supervision using data from the

Background Similar to other states, recidivism continues to be a central measure in Utah’s criminal justice system. This site shows trends in 3-year recidivism rates for individuals that served time in prison on a leading felony weapon offense that were released on parole between 2014 and 2018. Four types of recidivism rates are included: 1) any return to prison 2) a return based on one

Overview: Since the early 2000’s, 40 US states have passed criminal justice reform legislation, often formally called the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). These reforms, while varying by state, aim to improve system performance while controlling costs. Research Question: Critics of justice reform initiatives often argue that the “softer” policies in these reforms may negatively impact public safety, with recent concerns

Overview: Introduced in December of 2019, the Davis County jail diversion program aims to provide an alternative to traditional arrest or citation for adults who have engaged in certain lower-level drug crimes and misdemeanor offenses. Instead of traditional paths, the program allows referral to appropriate treatment services to avoid the stigmatizing and often costly criminal justice track. Critics of jail

Summary: Improving outcomes for individuals under correctional supervision is a core focus for criminal justice researchers and professionals. Here we analyze a cohort of over 500 females on parole in Utah between 2013 and 2017, using time-to-event analysis. We find that risk factors for females on parole are different when the outcome variable denotes a technical violation versus a new

Introduction & Background: The use of actuarial risk and needs screenings and assessments is becoming standard practice in the criminal justice setting. As part of broader criminal justice reform efforts, in 2015, Utah implemented a statewide risk and needs process that uses the LSI-R:SV to screen for an individual’s risk-to-reoffend when booked in any of its county jails. The LSI-R:SV

Purpose of this report: The four main goals of this report are to: Share findings from a targeted focus group with housing and employment specialists in Utah who have subject matter expertise in working with justice-involved clients; Connect the recommendations of these subject matter experts to existing data and research from the Commission on Criminal & Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) or

Summary: Understanding factors behind sustained criminal justice involvement is a primary focus of criminal justice research and professionals. Here we examine the relationship between offense type and new criminal convictions for offenders on parole in Utah. By analyzing 3,173 parolees released from Utah’s state prison in 2013 and 2016, we find that offenders convicted of a sex-offense have a reduced

Summary: In the state of Utah, a revocation to prison from parole can occur in two instances: (1) if the offender failed to comply with their supervision conditions, and (2) if the offender was convicted of a new crime while on parole. It should be emphasized that changes in revocation rates over time may reflect changes in offender behavior rather