Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Nancy G. La Vigne on Courts and Policing

This guidebook explores ways in which mapping can aid police responses to prisoner reentry. It addresses why and how police can take an active role in prisoner reentry efforts and how mapping can aid in those efforts. It describes strategies for engaging in data-sharing partnerships with corrections agencies, and the useful maps that can be produced. It closes with a discussion of how police agencies, in partnership with corrections, service providers, and community representatives, can use maps to better enhance public safety by reducing recidivism among released prisoners and apprehending those who do recidivate swiftly and efficiently.

This report describes the effects of prisoner reentry on communities and the impact on community safety and public perceptions of crime. The role of the police is examined by outlining the benefits of applying community policing strategies to prisoner reentry and exploring opportunities for police involvement. The report highlights specific examples from the field of how new police roles in prisoner reentry have been put into practice across the nation. A discussion of the potential organizational and community-level challenges to expanding law enforcement's role in reentry follows, along with suggested strategies for overcoming these obstacles and opportunities for advancing police reentry initiatives from both a practical and a policy perspective.