View Research by Author - Barbara Parthasarathy

Publications

Growth in the size of the federal prison population over the past decade is largely driven by increases in time served, and particularly by longer lengths of stay for drug offenders. This research report, which examines changes in the federal Bureau of Prison's population from 1998 to 2010, also notes that a higher conviction rate in drug cases and heightened enforcement of immigration and weapon offenses contribute to prison population growth. This growth was moderated by reductions in the rate at which sentenced offenders were admitted to prison and modest declines in the federal prosecution rate. Report findings were based on a statistical decomposition analysis using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Federal Justice Statistics Program.

Using 1999-2008 data from the Federal Justice Statistics Program and interviews with federal and tribal officials, this report describes the prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes of juveniles handled at each stage of the federal justice system. Although juvenile cases are rare in the federal system, over the ten year period about half of all juveniles were tribal youth. The report explores the jurisdictional complexities that help explain why tribal youth cases enter the federal system. Tribal and non-tribal juvenile cases differed in significant ways: most tribal youth cases involved violent offenses, while most non-tribal cases involved public order and drug offenses; and tribal youth were more likely to be adjudicated delinquent, while non-tribal youth were more likely to be prosecuted as adults.

Parole supervision has been a somewhat overlooked field in recent years, even as the challenges of prisoner reentry have attracted increasing attention. Parole supervision can and should play an important role in facilitating successful reentry, yet parole agencies must systematically adopt the practices and policies that have been demonstrated to work. To examine the current state of parole practice, the Urban Institute conducted a survey of parole supervision field offices. The findings of the survey are summarized in this report, and suggest that the principles of effective supervision are beginning to take root.

The application of radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology to prevent inmate misconduct in a women's prison in Cleveland, Ohio was evaluated. An interrupted time series design was employed to analyze administrative data. Interviews were conducted with 89 inmates and 21 correctional and investigative staff. A process evaluation found that the advanced applications of the RFID system theorized to prevent inmate misconduct were not initiated. The resulting study evaluates RFID when employed at its most basic level as a perimeter control device and aid in investigations and finds that rates of inmate misconduct did not change significantly over the evaluation period.

Using data from the Returning Home study of male prisoners returning to Chicago, this policy brief examines the extent of and reasons for residential mobility among released prisoners and how mobility affects reentry outcomes. Findings indicate that residential mobility among this group is not particularly high, and that those who do move are not necessarily at greater risk of relapse and recidivism. In fact, it appears that those who move do so either to avoid family conflict and/or to be more independent. Many change residences in order to reside with an intimate partner or friend. From a policy perspective, there may be little reason to identify movers as a particularly vulnerable population. Indeed, moving could be a sign of increased financial responsibility on the part of the released prisoner.

The number of people released from Texas prisons and state jails in 2001 was over five times the number released two decades ago. One-quarter of those released in 2001 returned to Harris County, and many were even more concentrated within a few distressed neighborhoods. This report describes the process of prisoner reentry in Texas by examining the policy context surrounding reentry, the characteristics of Texas's returning prisoners, their geographic distribution after release, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning prisoners. [View the corresponding press release]

This evaluation examined the impact of Maryland's Break the Cycle (BTC) initiative, designed to reduce drug use and crime among probationers and parolees. The evaluation was based on a quasi-experimental design and used statistical procedures to control for systematic differences between BTC and non-BTC jurisdictions. The designs and exclusive reliance on secondary data from existing computer systems did have limitations. The evaluation concluded that BTC was an effective strategy for reducing drug arrests among probationers and parolees with drug conditions.

Third in an annual series, this report provides statistics that describe defendants processed at different stages of the Federal criminal justice system for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2000. The data presented are compiled from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Federal justice database which is maintained by the Urban Institute for the U.S. Department of Justice.

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