Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Caterina Gouvis Roman on Criminal Justice

As part of the Reentry Housing Forum, "Reducing the Revolving Door of Incarceration and Homelessness in the District of Columbia," this paper reports the extent to which currently available permanent supportive housing serves ex-offenders, as well as the willingness of supportive housing providers to serve this population if appropriate supportive services are available.

As part of the Reentry Housing Forum, "Reducing the Revolving Door of Incarceration and Homelessness in the District of Columbia," this paper presents the number of days of jail and shelter and the number of responses by Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) for people using the D.C. Jail between October 1, 2004 and March 31, 2008, public emergency shelters between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2007, and FEMS between January 1 and August 31, 2008, as well as the cost of these services to District agencies.

This report examines the housing landscape of prisoner reentry in the District of Columbia through an analysis of neighborhoods that had high rates of returning prisoners and a survey of housing-related providers. This report fills important gaps in information vital to the District's continuing efforts to implement effective strategies for reintegrating and supervising returning parolees. More specifically, this research has been developed to provide a framework for understanding what types of housing and housing support services exist in the geographic areas to which persons leaving prison return, and to document the needs of communities from the viewpoint of the service providers. The ultimate goal is to sharpen the community's thinking on the issue of housing and prisoner reintegration, and to foster policy innovations that will improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities.

In October 2001, the Urban Institute and the Alliance of Concerned Men conducted a focus group with individuals who had successfully made the transition from prison to the community. The goal of the focus group was to explore "ingredients for success" as perceived by the focus group participants, and to seek their advice as to ways that the District of Columbia government and non-profit agencies could better support reentry and reintegration for prisoners returning to the District.

Over 2,000 ex-offenders come back to the District every year, and with the closing of Lorton Reformatory in the wake of the federal takeover of the system, they'll all be returning from locations fairly distant from their homes. So, who or what will facilitate their reentry into society?

Violent crime continues to be a major concern in the District of Columbia. In 1999, the District recorded 14,871 violent incidents against 16,372 victims. Nearly 12,000 individuals were assaulted and almost 4,000 robbed. To inform efforts to reduce violence in the city, the Mayor's Office and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) convened a small "data team" in mid-July, 2000. Composed of representatives from the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), the Urban Institute, the Mayor's Office, and the CJCC, the team was charged with analyzing violent incidents in the city by identifying trends and patterns that characterize violent incidents, victims, and offenders.