Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

New Pew report with "evidence-based sentencing initiatives to control crime and reduce costs"

By Douglas A. Berman

I just learned of a new policy brief from the Pew Public Safety Performance Project, which is titled "Arming the Courts with Research: 10 Evidence-Based Sentencing Initiatives to Control Crime and Reduce Costs."  The policy brief can be accessed at this link, where it is summarized this way: For many years, conventional wisdom has been that ?nothing works? to change offender behavior ? that once an offender has turned to crime little can be done to help turn his or her life around. Today, however, there is a voluminous body of solid research showing that certain ?evidence-based? sentencing and corrections practices do work and can reduce crime rates as effectively as prisons at much lower cost. This policy brief outlines 10 strategies for evidence-based sentencing that would allow states to reduce their crime rates while conserving state resources to meet other important needs...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 21, 2009 (boomark / email).