The Impact of COVID-19 on Nevada's Criminal Justice System

Project Introduction to Nevada Sentencing Commission

May 21, 2021

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Agenda

• Introductions • Project Overview

• Data Analysis • System Assessment

• National Landscape & Examples • What We Know So Far • Next Steps • Questions

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About CJI

• The Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) works with local, state, and national criminal justice organizations to assist them in developing data and public-safety-driven solutions to tough criminal justice policy problems

• CJI provides nonpartisan policy analysis, research, technical assistance, program evaluation, and training to jurisdictions throughout the country

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CJI’s Other Work in Nevada

• Support Staff for the ACAJ (2018-2019): • Assisted Nevada’s Advisory Commission on the

Administration of Justice (ACAJ) as it developed policy recommendations that led to Assembly Bill 236, which went into effect in mid-2020

• Implementation Support for AB 236 (2019-present) • Staffs an implementation team that works closely

with in-state agencies to support changes required by AB 236

Project Overview

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Leadership Charge

State leadership has asked CJI to:

“[E]valuate the general impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on

Nevada’s criminal justice system, and the specific impact of the pandemic on Nevada’s

prison population.”

Letter signed by:

• Governor Sisolak • Chief Justice Hardesty • Majority Leader Cannizzaro • Speaker Frierson

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Project Goals

1. To better understand the impact of COVID-19 on the state’s prison population through data analysis and system assessment.

2. To identify gaps and opportunities for post-pandemic policies and practices.

3. To revise prison population projections where necessary.

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Project Phases

Data Analysis

System Assessment

Projections

Opportunities

Final Report

Data Analysis

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Data Sets

To understand COVID-19’s impact on Nevada’s jail and prison populations, CJI will analyze raw data from the following sources:

• Nevada Department of Corrections • Administrative Office of the Courts • Nevada Division of Parole and Probation • Records, Communications and Compliance Division • Judicial Districts • County-level agencies

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Methodology

• Analyses of aggregate and individual-level data to assess trends in:

• Admissions • Lengths of stay • Releases • Population snapshots • Demographics • Offense types • Revocations • Case processing

System Assessment

System Assessment Areas

CJI will catalog and assess policy and practice changes that occurred across Nevada’s criminal justice system, including but not limited to the following areas:

Policing Prosecution Court Process & Sentencing

Community Supervision and Support

Prison Release

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Methodology

Review of state laws, executive and administrative orders, written agency policies, appellate cases, and court rules

Interviews (individual and group) with administrators, practitioners, and impacted individuals throughout the system

Surveys, focus groups, and court observation

National Trends

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Changes to Law Enforcement Practices

• High staff sick rates result in many departments decreasing their physical footprint

• Intentional reduction in frequency of arrests to protect the health and safety of officers

• Increased use of citations in lieu of arrests

• Limited enforcement of certain types of offenses such as traffic violations

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Changes to Court Processes

• Courts across the country transitioned to virtual court without in-person appearances for most hearings

• Many jurisdictions enacted policies to limit pretrial detention, including presumptive release on recognizance for broad classes of offenses

• Due to closures and other safety measures, many courts delayed disposition of cases via mass continuances or limiting jury trials

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Changes to Incarcerated Populations

• Departments released individuals who were vulnerable to COVID-19 through a variety of different mechanisms, including work release, geriatric parole, or medical release

• Some states issued commutation orders, for example authorizing early release for nonviolent offenders

• Departments moved to release individuals who were within a certain number days of their parole eligibility date

• Some states housed individuals at previously vacant facilities for quarantine, intake, and other purposes

• Departments stopped all transfers of individuals

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Changes to Supervision Practices

• Supervision providers across the country had to transition from in-person reporting to remote or limited reporting to protect their staff and supervisees

• Budgetary limitations caused departments to be understaffed

• Caseloads in some places increased as more individuals were placed on supervision, which was followed by policies to safely reduce these rising caseloads

• Closures of community supports, e.g. treatment centers, required adjustment to supervision plans

What We Know So Far

Nevada’s Prison Population Drops 18% Since 2019

Nevada Department of Corrections Total Prison Population

January 2018 - April 2021

Jan 2018 Total Pop: 13804

Jan 2019 Total Pop: 13670

Jan 2020 Total Pop: 12864

Apr 2021 Total Pop: 112319000

10000

11000

12000

13000

14000

15000

Tota

l Pris

on P

opul

atio

n

8000

7000

6000 Jan

2018 Apr

2018 July

2018 Oct

2018 Jan

2019 Apr

2019 July

2019 Oct

2019 Jan

2020 Apr

2020 July

2020 Oct

2020 Jan

2021 Apr

2021

NDOC Prison Population

Sources: Total Population (Actual) reported in NDOC Quarterly Reports and NDOC Weekly Fact Sheets. Accessed from: https://doc.nv.gov/About/Statistics

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COVID-19 Widens Gaps in Prison Population Projections Nevada Department Of Corrections

Forecasted vs. Actual Prison Populations January-May of FY18 thru FY21

15000

14500

14000

13500

13000

12500

12000

11500

11000

10500

10000 Jan Feb March April May Jan Feb March April May Jan Feb March April May Jan Feb March April May

Jan 2018 % Change: -2.7% Jan 2019 % Change:

-3.6%

Jan 20 % Change: -7.7%

Jan 2021 % Change -11.3%

April 2021 % Change: -12.9%

Forecasted Prison Population Actual Prison Population

2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2020 2020 2020 2021 2021 2021

Priso

n Po

pula

tion

Sources: Estimates based off Total Prison Population (forecasted & actual) from NDOC Quarterly Reports and NDOC Weekly Fact Sheets. Accessed from: https://doc.nv.gov/About/Statistics

National and Nevada Crime Rates During Pandemic

Violent and Property Crime Rates U.S., Nevada, & LVMPD Comparison

2017-2020

3500 3036

2910 2793

22922612 2438

2322 2362

2200 2110 1943

638 621 575 545 556 494500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Crim

es p

er 1

00,0

00

LVMPD Violent Crime % Changes 2019-2020: Homicide: ↑ 11.98% Agg. Assault: ↑ 3.45% Rape: ↓19.37% Robbery: ↓20.07%

0 383

2017

369

2018

367

2019

379

2020

LVMPD Property NV Property U.S. Property LVMPD Violent NV Violent U.S. Violent

Sources: FBI Preliminary Quarterly Uniform Crime Report; https://crime-data-explorer.fr.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/quarterly; LVMPD Annual Reports (2017-2020) https://www.lvmpd.com/en-us/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx; NDOC Quarterly Reports https://doc.nv.gov/About/Statistics

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Average Parole Population Rises 17% Since March 2020

Nevada Division of Parole and Probation Count of Individuals on Parole

FY2020 - April FY2021

6,000

3998 4647 1,000 Average Parole Population Average Parole Population

July 2019-March 2020 July 2020-March 2021 0

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

Tota

l Par

ole

Coun

t

Year-Month

Note: Average parole population in red. No April 2020 data provided. Values are Offenders on Parole as reported by Nevada Division of Parole and Probation to NDOC. Source: NDOC Weekly Fact Sheets. Accessed from: https://doc.nv.gov/About/Statistics/Weekly_Fact_Sheets/2020_Weekly_Fact_Sheets/

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Next Steps

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Project Plan

Project Phases Timeframe

Planning April 2021 - May 2021

Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment May 2021 – July 2021

Development of report and policy recommendations

July 2021 – September 2021

Projections August 2021 - November 2021

Report Delivered November 2021

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Next Steps

• CJI will be reaching out to many of you as part of the data analysis and system assessment

• The success of this project will depend on the participation, perspective, data, and referrals of as many practitioners and experts as possible

• The final report, including both the data analysis and system assessment, will be published in November

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CJI Contacts

Quentin Weld qweld@cjinstitute.org (617) 485-4956

Adrian Rocha arocha@cjinstitute.org

Dr. Molly Buchanan mbuchanan@cjinstitute.org

Vibha Honasoge vhonasoge@cjinstitute.org

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Disclaimer

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-ZB-BX-K003 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of

Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of

Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or

opinions in this presentation are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S.

Department of Justice.