View Research by Author - Aaron Horvath

Publications

Police vehicles burn a great deal of fuel while patrolling continuously. Various approaches have been proven to significantly reduce the amount of fuel used and its cost. Hybrid vehicles typically get two-three times higher mileage per gallon than conventional vehicles and have proven viable for policing, in many cities, including New York. Computers in vehicles that reduce trips back to stations, fuel-saving driving techniques (such as reducing idling), good vehicle maintenance (such as maintaining proper tire pressures), use of on-line reporting and other strategies such as community policing that require fewer vehicle trips also can reduce fuel consumption.

In many cities, false alarms from home and business security systems number in the tens of thousands each year, waste millions of dollars of officer time, and detract from attention to reducing crimes. Options are presented on ways to substantially reduce the effects of such false alarms and the police responses to them. We analyzed experiences of Montgomery County, MD; Seattle, WA; and Salt Lake City, UT, which reduced false alarms by 66-90% and saved 10-30 police officer-years annually.

This evaluation of the Transition from Prison to the Community (TPC) initiative found improved collaboration among participating state agencies and their service provider partners and identified enhanced efforts to employ risk/needs assessments, assess program quality, and monitor performance. Developed and funded by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), TPC provided states with support and guidance in preparing prisoners for release, facilitating their transition to the community, and overcoming barriers to reintegration.

Using qualitative and quantitative data, this report discusses the history, performance, and progress of the District of Columbia Frequent Users Service Enhancement Pilot Program, implemented by the Corporation for Supportive Housing. As a supportive housing reentry program focused on disabled individuals with histories of homelessness and incarceration, the program intended to provide housing and coordinate services for 50 "frequent users" leaving the city jail. Over the first year of operations, the program successfully identified and targeted more than a dozen frequent users and linked them to supportive housing through effective cross-system coordination. Policy implications of the evaluation findings are discussed.

Parole supervision is the key mechanism facilitating the return of prisoners to the community. To examine the current state of parole practice, the Urban Institute conducted a survey of parole supervision field offices. In this report, the authors examine survey results at the state level to supplement and extend the national-level analysis presented in the previously released An Evolving Field. This analysis provides a more nuanced view of parole practices and, despite differences in population and structure of justice systems, shows the varying strengths, weaknesses, and similarities across states.

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