Publications

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

Overview HB348 made substantial changes to practices and procedures in Utah’s criminal justice system. Targeted policy shifts included penalty reductions to certain low-level traffic and drug-related offenses to reduce the burden placed on local jails and the state’s prison population. Traffic Filings Policies in the reform bill reclassified certain low-level traffic offenses from a Misdemeanor C to an Infraction. The figure

Key Takeaway: Females entering the criminal justice system have complex and multifaceted needs. A failure to meet these needs leads to a cycle of reincarceration. The use of evidence-based treatment and programming have been shown to break this link. Our state should continue to invest in gender-specific treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Introduction:  While females continue to make up

This report summarizes the research efforts related to the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Arrest and Referral Assessment conducted by the University of Utah’s Utah Criminal Justice Center (UCJC). Background DMC Within the area of criminal justice, few issues have generated as much interest and controversy as the relationship between race and ethnicity and crime (Piquero, 2008). A wealth of research

Summary: In Utah, a recommendation of probation, jail, or prison should be based on an offender’s criminal history score and the severity and type of their most recent offense. Additionally, the offenders’ mitigating/aggravating factors are taken into consideration. The criminal history score is based on the offender’s past involvement with the justice system. The score then places offenders into a

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

Figure 1: Utah’s prison population: 2000-19 Research Question: When controlling for relevant factors, does offense type play a part in predicting new criminal convictions while on parole? This study examines the role of offense type on the likelihood of a new criminal conviction while on parole and examines the severity of the new criminal convictions that occurred. Data: 3,173 unique

Summary: Decades of research have demonstrated a systemic and nationwide presence of racial and ethnic disparities in the United States’ criminal justice system. The sources of these disparities have commonly been attributed to (1) differences in the type and rate of criminal behaviors, (2) unequal treatment across groups, and (3) a combination of the two. Furthermore, differential treatment by systems and structurally

Juvenile Justice Reform policy objectives stemmed from a review of local Utah data and national evidence-based research. Changes in policy and practice impacted the front end of the justice system within schools and the general community to the back end of the Juvenile Court and Juvenile Justice Services. This 4th annual report provides an update on reform policies that were