Thora Institute

Algernon Austin presents an excellent, concise, and wonderfully read scholarly examination of the complicated landscape of race, class and popular perception. Besides the prison industrial complex, black strides in education, poverty rates, crime and other indices contradict claims that blacks are “moving backward.”
--Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Director, Institute for African American Studies, University of Connecticut and author of Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 2004 and Hip-Hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap (University Press of Kansas), 2007.

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[On the Need for Comprehensive Criminal Justice Reform.]
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Have you ever missed an appointment? Maybe you forgot; maybe you overslept; maybe you were stuck in traffic; maybe there was an emergency of some sort? Well, if you were on parole, missing an appointment with a parole officer could lead you back to prison.

Does this make sense?

Should people be incarcerated for the “crime” of missing an appointment? Should we be paying $25,000 or more a year in prison costs on people who missed appointments? Should we be building new prisons to accommodate inmates who missed appointments? Is this a wise use of our tax dollars?

My presentation here is likely too simplistic, but it does point to a real issue in our dysfunctional criminal justice system. Many people released from prison are re-incarcerated for technical violations which include missing an appointment.

One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008, a report from the Pew Center on the States, observes:

While some violators are re-incarcerated for new crimes, a significant number wind up back in prison for so-called “technical” violations—transgressions such as a failed drug test or missed appointment with a supervisory agent. California locks up massive numbers of violators, scrambling to accommodate them in a sprawling, 171,444-inmate system so crowded that a three-judge panel may order a population reduction. A 2005 study showed that more than two-thirds of parolees in the Golden State were returned to prison within three years of release; of those, 39 percent were due to technical violations. (p. 18)

There are alternatives to re-incarceration for technical violations.

These include a mix of day reporting centers, electronic monitoring systems, and community service. This strategy makes offenders pay for their missteps but keeps prison beds free for more violent and chronic lawbreakers. And, it makes it more likely the violators will be able to pay victim restitution, child support and taxes. (p. 19)

These alternatives are more proportionate to the offense, and they are a lot less costly to society as a whole and to the ex-offender. Most states, however, do not take this sensible route, but instead rely on re-incarceration.

Much of the attention One in 100 received focused on America’s incredibly high incarceration rate. But the report also contained several “smart on crime” recommendations for making our criminal justice system more effective, less expensive and more humane. The report advocated the use of what I’m calling “smart sentencing,” “smart parole and probation,” and “smart release” policies.

“Smart” Sentencing and Diversion Policies

• Drug courts that break the cycle of crime and addiction with frequent drug tests, a continuum of treatment services and increasing penalties for violations.


• Targeted penalty changes that steer selected low-risk offenders to community corrections programs or modify mandatory minimums.


• Comprehensive sentencing guidelines that allow states to decide as a matter of policy which types of offenders should go to prison and which are appropriate for community corrections.

“Smart” Parole and Probation Policies

• Intermediate sanctions such as day reporting centers for offenders who break the rules of their release, to ensure that each violation receives a swift, certain and proportionate response.


• Short-term residential facilities for persistent rule violators with substance abuse problems.


• Performance incentives that shorten terms of supervision for offenders who comply with their conditions and fulfill obligations such as victim restitution and child support.

“Smart” Release Policies

• Risk reduction credits that allow slightly earlier release for inmates who complete treatment and education programs designed to reduce recidivism.


• Risk-based release instruments that use analysis of actual recidivism patterns to help releasing authorities decide who should remain behind bars and who is ready for release.


• Sufficient program availability in prisons and the community so release isn’t delayed because inmates cannot complete requirements.
(p. 20)

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--Algernon Austin, Ph.D.

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