Category Criminal Justice Policy
Please Help My Backyard: Developing Solutions Beyond Prisons in Rural Communities
Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives “Thus, the prison industrial complex is much more than the sum of all the jails and prisons in this country” (2003: 107). Incarceration is embedded in the social fabric of America. As the incarceration rate dramatically grew during the last three decades of the 20th century, state governments […]
Left Behind: The Need For Program Evaluation In Women’s Incarceration
Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Marginalized and Forgotten Incarceration captures society’s most marginalized people. The vast majority of America’s carceral facilities are filled with men–89 percent of the country’s total incarcerated population–and much of the attention on corrections focuses on men. The overwhelming majority of incarcerated men overshadow how confinement uniquely affects non-binary individuals, transgender […]
Hate Crime Legislation in Indiana: Analyzing Indiana’s Place in Nationwide Effort to Hold Perpetrators Accountable
Niloofar Asgari, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The United States is known for its vast diversity. However, the prevalence of hate crimes remains a concern for victimized individuals and communities, law enforcement agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and other entities. According to the FBI, a hate crime is “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in […]
Solutions to a National Problem: Correctional Officer Turnover in the U.S.
Catherine Kaufman, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The death of high-profile financier and convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein in a federal jail has brought increased attention to staffing problems within the U.S. prison system. Although current Attorney General William Barr believes the jail suffered from “serious irregularities,” the issues of understaffing and turnover among prison staff are not new. Indeed, between […]
The US Federal Government and Capital Punishment
Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Origins of American Capital Punishment The United States has a long and largely undocumented history of capital punishment. The origin of American executions lies within racialized terror that is ingrained in the country’s history. While many of these government-sponsored killings happened at the local level, the federal government moved towards […]
A Carceral Capital: Washington, D.C.’s Unique Criminal Justice Systems
Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The capital of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, has a higher incarceration rate than any of the U.S. states. In fact, the District incarcerates people at a higher rate than any country in the world (including the U.S. as a whole). A complex […]
Restoring Voting Rights: Did Florida’s Amendment 4 Go Far Enough?
Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPP Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The 2018 midterm elections introduced many justice reform initiatives on ballots around the United States. Nearly 70 percent of constituents in Florida voted to approve Amendment 4, which automatically restored voting rights to people with felony convictions who have completed their sentence and probation or parole. Many […]
