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Research papers on Criminal justice reform

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  1. Savry Risk Assessment in Violent Dutch Adolescents: Relation to Sentencing and Recidivism

    Henny P.B. Lodewijks, Theo A.H. Doreleijers, Corine De Ruiter · 2008 · Criminal Justice and Behavior · 61 citations

    This study examines the predictive validity of the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) by examining relationships between SAVRY scores and violent reoffending during a 3-year period after sentencing. Two types of sentences were studied: a mandatory treatment order ( N = 77) and a juvenile prison sentence ( N = 40). The predictive validity of the SAVRY was significant for the two types of sentences. The predictive validity of the unstructured clinical judgment proved to be not significant. Support was found for the hypothesis that the juvenile court's sentence (treatment versus detention) might have been influenced by the unstructured clinical risk assessment of the mental

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  3. Ghosting the Machine: Judicial Resistance to a Recidivism Risk Assessment Instrument

    Dasha Pruss · 2023 · Proceedings of the 2023 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency · 39 citations

    Recidivism risk assessment instruments are presented as an ‘evidence-based’ strategy for criminal justice reform – a way of increasing consistency in sentencing, replacing cash bail, and reducing mass incarceration. In practice, however, AI-centric reforms can simply add another layer to the sluggish, labyrinthine machinery of bureaucratic systems and are met with internal resistance. Through a community-informed interview-based study of 23 criminal judges and other criminal legal bureaucrats in Pennsylvania, I find that judges overwhelmingly ignore a recently-implemented sentence risk assessment instrument, which they disparage as “useless,” “worthless,” “boring,” “a waste of time,” “a non-

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  6. OxRec model for assessing risk of recidivism: ethics

    Derek W Braverman, Samuel N Doernberg, C. Runge, et al. · 2016 · The lancet. Psychiatry · 7 citations

    Concerned by the increasing use of actuarial risk assessments in our criminal justice system and worldwide, we read with interest the Article (June, 2016)1 by Seena Fazel and colleagues presenting the derivation and validation of one such model, OxRec, in Sweden. Typically, these tools use a variety of factors, such as criminal, medical, and demographic information, to calculate an individual’s risk of either recidivism generally or committing specific, usually violent, crimes.2 Assessments are then used to set sentences, determine conditions and time of parole, and target post-release interventions, among other applications depending on local laws.2,3 Furthermore, the Sentencing Reform and

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  7. Short-Term Imprisonment of Independence Penalty from the Perspective of Punishment Objectives as Criminal Law Reform in Indonesia

    Ratri Novita Erdianti, Bagas Ranendra Pratama, Muhamad Helmi Md Said · 2025 · Indonesia Law Reform Journal · 6 citations

    This article examines the effectiveness of short-term imprisonment in Indonesia, focusing on its inherent limitations such as prisonisation, overcrowding, and persistent recidivism. Employing a normative juridical approach supported by correctional statistics, the study evaluates whether short custodial sentences fulfil the intended purposes of punishment. The findings indicate that such sanctions rarely deter offenders, fail to support rehabilitation, and hinder social reintegration, thereby exposing a significant gap between the theoretical aims of criminal law and the realities of correctional practice. The analysis highlights how reliance on short-term imprisonment exacerbates systemic c

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  9. Reprogramming Recidivism: The First Step Act and Algorithmic Prediction of Risk

    Amy B. Cyphert · 2021 · SSRN Electronic Journal · 4 citations

    The First Step Act, a seemingly miraculous bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, was signed into law in late 2018. The Act directed the Attorney General to develop a risk and needs assessment tool that would effectively determine who would be eligible for early release based on an algorithmic prediction of recidivism. The resulting tool—PATTERN—was released in the summer of 2019 and quickly updated in January of 2020. It was immediately put to use in an unexpected manner, helping to determine who was eligible for early release during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now the latest in a growing list of algorithmic recidivism prediction tools, tools that first came to mainstream notice with cri

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  11. Criminal Justice Reform: Examining Strategies for Reducing Mass Incarceration and Promoting Rehabilitation

    V. Chatterjee · 2024 · Indian Journal of Law · 2 citations

    The pressing issue of mass incarceration and explores strategies for criminal justice reform aimed at reducing incarceration rates and promoting rehabilitation. It highlights the social, economic, and human costs of mass incarceration and discusses the need for evidence-based policies and innovative approaches to address systemic issues within the criminal justice system. Mass incarceration has reached unprecedented levels in many countries, including the United States, where it has disproportionately impacted communities of color and contributed to cycles of poverty, inequality, and recidivism. The abstract discusses the various factors driving mass incarceration, such as mandatory minimum

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  12. The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Recidivism Studies

    Nora V. Demleitner · 2020 · Federal Sentencing Reporter · 2 citations

    Recidivism is now the guiding principle of punishment and has become the new hallmark of criminal justice reform, as reflected in the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s recidivism project. So far, the Commission has issued three reports in 2020 alone, which outline the parameters within which “safe” criminal justice reform can proceed. Yet the overly broad definition of “recidivism” and the focus on easily measurable and static risk factors, such as prior criminal record, create a feedback loop. The Commission’s work should come with a warning label. Its recidivism studies should not be consumed on their own. Instead, they must be read in conjunction with U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services re

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  14. Evaluating restorative justice as a component of a multisystemic, evidence-based framework for reducing mass incarceration in the United States

    Agnieszka M. Nogalska, Maria Montero-Diezma, Zoe Colclough, et al. · 2026 · Contemporary Justice Review · 1 citations

    ABSTRACT Many advocates of criminal legal reform have endorsed Restorative Justice (RJ) as an alternative to retributive practices, arguing it addresses victim needs while encouraging offender accountability. Despite RJ’s growing implementation across jurisdictions, current practices often lack integration with evidence-based frameworks. Moreover, valid concerns persist regarding its effectiveness in significantly reducing recidivism, thus casting doubt on its potential role in addressing mass incarceration through systemic change. This article offers a critical review of existing RJ literature, clarifying definitions of the concept and distinguishing RJ from both conventional punitive sente

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  15. Relevant problems of humanisation of the execution of liberty deprivation under the legislation of Kazakhstan: An international comparative analysis

    R. Tatikov, K. Baltabayev, Y. Drokin · 2025 · Social and Legal Studios · 1 citations

    This researchʼs relevance lies in the nationʼs continuous initiatives to reform Kazakhstanʼs criminal justice system, reduce recidivism rates, and coordinate its penal policies with international restorative justice standards, especially as it aims to reduce dependence on incarceration and improve the efficacy of probation and alternative sentencing strategies. The purpose of the study was to identify new forms of influence on criminals in the context of restorative justice. This study utilised comparative legal analysis, doctrinal legal research, and functional legal analysis to assess the efficacy of restorative justice and alternative sentencing in Kazakhstan, Germany, Spain, and the Unit

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  19. “They expect you to be better”: comparative experiences of youth and adult criminal justice systems

    Kristin Swardh, Marsha Rampersaud · 2025 · International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice

    ABSTRACT While some jurisdictions in the United States and the United Kingdom acknowledge the unique developmental trajectories of young adults in their criminal justice systems, Canada continues to treat individuals aged 18 to 25 the same as older adults, lacking specialised programmes or sentencing options for this group. This paper examines the experiences of young adults in Canada’s criminal justice system and the need for justice approaches that consider their ongoing maturation. Through 41 semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted in Ontario, Canada, disparities in treatment and outcomes between the youth and adult justice systems were explored. Findings reveal that young adults

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  20. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON REHABILITATIVE JUSTICE: ASSESSING THE NEED FOR REFORM OF CRIMINAL PUNISHMENT AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

    Sam Siryon · 2026 · LawFoyer International Journal of Doctrinal Legal Research

    In contemporary legal settings, rehabilitative criminal punishment has been criticized for its high cost in integrating rehabilitated criminals into society, ineffectiveness, infringement on human rights, and the risk of creating a wide net of penal control. It has also been critiqued for the potential for sentencing disparities based on perceived needs for rehabilitation rather than the severity of the crime, and the lack of traditional due process safeguards within rehabilitative programs. The long-term argument has been that the system is too forgiving, thereby undermining the goal of retribution and failing to express society’s moral disapproval of criminal acts. Rehabilitative justice f

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  21. Healing Law, Not Hurting: Building a Therapeutic Jurisprudence-Based Criminal Justice System in Indonesia

    Erwin Susilo, Karell Mawla Ibnu Kamali · 2026 · Ius Poenale

    Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) offers a humane and rehabilitation-oriented paradigm that moves beyond a purely punitive criminal justice model. This study examines the urgency of implementing TJ in Indonesia and proposes a conceptual criminal justice model to support its application. Using a normative juridical method with statutory, comparative, and conceptual approaches, the study finds that TJ can enhance rehabilitation and reduce recidivism by incorporating defendants’ psychological and social conditions into judicial decision-making. The proposed model integrates Social Research Reports as a key basis for sentencing and strengthens the role of community probation officers in the rehabil

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  22. Recidivism Rates as They Relate to The First Step Act: Is It Serving Its Intended Purpose?

    Scott L. Garland · 2025 · International Journal of Arts , Humanities & Social Science

    The First Step Act (FSA) of 2018 represents one of the most significant bipartisan efforts to reform federal sentencing and correctional practices in the United States. This study examines the Act’s effectiveness in reducing recidivism through evidence-based programming, earned time incentives, and algorithmic risk assessments. Drawing from Bureau of Justice Statistics, Department of Justice, and Council on Criminal Justice data (2018–2024), the analysis integrates theoretical perspectives from rehabilitation and implementation science with empirical outcomes across Federal Bureau of Prisons institutions. Findings reveal modest but meaningful declines in five-year recidivism rates—from 43% i

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  23. Community Service as a Sentencing Alternative in India: A Critical Appraisal of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

    Mandeep Singh · 2026 · ResearchPro International Multidisciplinary Journal

    The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, marks a watershed moment in Indian criminal justice by formally introducing community service as a statutory alternative to imprisonment. This paper critically examines the legal architecture, operational hurdles, and socio-legal ramifications of this reform. It argues that community service holds genuine potential to ease prison overcrowding, lower recidivism, and restore offenders to productive citizenship—provided that implementation is backed by robust institutional frameworks, judicial clarity, and public trust. Drawing on comparative experiences from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and the Nordic nations,

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