Travis County Commissioners Court Voting Session Agenda Request

Transcription

1 FILED FOR RECORD 4/17/2018 9:00 AM Dana Debeauvoir - County Clerk, Travis County,TX Item 7 Travis County Commissioners Court Voting Session Agenda Request Meeting Date: April 17, 2018 Agenda Language: Receive presentation related to a review of drug possession case dispositions and a recidivism analysis prepared by the Council of State Governments Justice Center. Prepared By/Phone Number: Roger Jefferies, County Executive, Justice and Public Safety Elected/Appointed Official or Department Head: Margaret Moore, District Attorney and Roger Jefferies, County Executive, Justice and Public Safety Commissioners Court Sponsor(s): Margaret Gomez, Commissioner, Precinct 4, Gerald Daugherty, Commissioner, Precinct 3 Press Inquiries: Hector Nieto, PIO@traviscountytx.gov or (512) Background/Summary of Request and Attachments: Please see attached. Staff Recommendations: N/A Issues and Opportunities: N/A Fiscal Impact and Source of Funding: N/A Required Authorizations: Margaret Moore, District Attorney Roger Jefferies, County Executive Margaret Gomez, Commissioner, Precinct 4 Gerald Daugherty, Commissioner, Precinct 3

2 JUSTICE Jf CENTER TH1 Cou ell 01 T\ 'I 1 Gov1 R ' \H Is Collaborative Approaches to Public afety SUMMARY OF FINDING AND RECOMMENDATIONS Travis County District Attorney: Review of Drug Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions and Recidivism Analysis Dr. Tony Fabelo and Jessy Tyler Council of State Governments, Justice Center 2018

3 Findings and Recommendations Travis County District Attorney: Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions and Recidivism Analysis Dr. Tony Fabelo and Jessy Tyler February 23, 2018 Background The Travis District Attorney, with support from other Travis County officials, was interested in reviewing the disposition patterns for defendants charged with State Jail Felony (from here on referred as SJF) drug possession cases (from here on referred as SJF-DP). The particular emphasis was to review if there were unwarranted racial effects in the disposition of these cases based on a comprehensive data analysis. Data were collected from various Travis County computerized data systems and from the Texas Department of Public Safety Computerized Criminal History System. Data included demographics, offense charges and disposition, pretrial release type, defense attorney type, pretrial risk assessment scores and mental health needs flag. The main study group included all SJF-DP defendants with cases disposed in 2016 (2,458 defendants), with an additional group of defendants disposed between January and October 13, 2017 (2,545 defendants). In addition, an analysis was conducted of the one-year recidivism rate of 1,408 defendants disposed for the first time in 2015 and a two-year recidivism rate of 1,405 defendants disposed for the first time in Finally, a multivariate analysis was conducted using the data factors in the 2016 study group. Multivariate analyses allow for the simultaneous consideration of many different factors that combine to influence the likelihood that a defendant will be convicted. Gender, race, criminal history, pretrial detention, risk levels and type of counsel all can have an independent effect. Multivariate methodologies make it possible to isolate the effect of a single factor, while holding the remainder of the factors statistically constant. This analysis was conducted here within the limits of the available data. This document presents the summary of the findings of this data-driven project, along with preliminary recommendations. These findings are explored in depth in another report that has been made available to the Travis County District Attorney. Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 1

4 Overall Trends Big Picture Finding Bookings in Travis County for arrestees with SJF increased while overall bookings declined o Overall jail bookings in Travis County decreased by 14% between 2013 and 2017, but bookings of arrestees with SJF increased by 9% o SFJ-DP bookings increased by 34% Recommendations 1. County officials need to review law enforcement practices to understand why bookings for SJF drug possessions have increased while overall bookings have gone down. 2. County officials need to review community concerns about drug abuse, mental health, and associated problems and whether sufficient alternatives to arrest exist to address these concerns. Disproportional Race Distribution of Arrested Population and Recidivism Big Picture Findings Race distribution of SJF arrests was close to the race distribution of all bookings but not the general population of Travis County o Black/African-American (from here on summarized as B/AA) represented 24% of all jail bookings, 27% of SJF bookings and 25% of SJF-DP bookings o Hispanic/Latino (from here on summarized as H/L) represented 31% of the bookings and 30% of the SJF and SJF-DP bookings o In relation of the general Travis County population as counted in the 2016 US Census, B/AA are overrepresented in the jail bookings, with 8% of the Travis County population being B/AA compared to 24% of the jail bookings. o H/L and Whites are underrepresented, with the Travis County population being 34% H/L and bookings 31% and White alone being 49% of the Travis population and 44% of the jail bookings B/AA and H/L in the 2016 study population of SJF-DP cases disposed had substantially higher numbers of prior arrests at disposition than Whites o B/AA had an average of 11.7 prior arrests, H/L 7.8 and White 4.9 B/AA and H/L have higher two-year recidivism rates than Whites regardless of how the case was disposed o The overall two-year recidivism rate for cases disposed in 2014 was 51% and the one-year recidivism rate for cases disposed in 2015 was 39% Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 2

5 Recommendation o B/AA sentenced to community supervision time had a two-year recidivism rate of 57% compared to 39% for H/L and 41% for White o B/AA disposed to jail time had a two-year recidivism rate of 68% compared to 58% for H/L and 50% for White o B/AA with cases dismissed had a two-year recidivism rate of 53% compared to 49% for H/L and 29% for White 3. As above for recommendation one and two, county officials need to review law enforcement practices to understand pattern of higher arrests for B/AA and H/L. Impact of Defense Counsel on Pretrial Release Big Picture Findings SJF-DP White defendants had the highest percentage of hired counsel compared to B/AA and H/L o White defendants had the highest percentage of hired counsel at 45% compared to 36% for H/L and 23% for B/AA At all risk levels, and by all races, a higher percentage of defendants with retained counsel were released on personal bond o For example, 80% of B/AA with a low-risk pretrial score were granted personal bond with retained counsel compared to 56% with appointed counsel o On the other end, 69% of B/AA with a high-risk pretrial score were granted personal bond with retained counsel compared to 28% with appointed counsel Multivariate analysis reinforces the importance of pretrial release on case outcomes, with persons released on bond being 9% less likely to be convicted than a person incarcerated prior to adjudication, controlling for all the factors in the data that can impact this outcome Impact of Defense Counsel on Case Disposition Big Picture Findings SJF-DP defendants with hired counsel, at all charge levels, had a lower percentage of guilty dispositions o For example, 48% of those with only a SJF-DP charge with hired counsel were found guilty compared to 80% with those with appointed counsel Defendants with hired counsel had lower conviction rates at all charge levels and for most arrest history categories Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 3

6 o For example, 82% of those defendants with no prior arrest history with an appointed counsel were convicted compared to 46% of those with hired counsel. For those with 16 or more prior arrests, the difference was less dramatic with 94% of those with appointed counsel convicted compared to 86% of those with hired counsel A higher proportion of those with appointed counsel were disposed under 12.44(a) of the Texas Penal Code, compared to those with hired counsel o 12.44(a) authorizes a court to impose the punishment for a Class A misdemeanor, i.e., time in county jail, for a SJF conviction. o 83% of the SJF-DP cases disposed under 12.44(a) to serve time in the county jail were represented by appointed counsel A lower proportion of defendants with hired counsel, by all races, received state or local jail time compared to those with appointed counsel o 58% of defendants with hired counsel received state or local jail time compared to 88% of those with appointed counsel, which is related to the higher proportion of 12.44(a) dispositions for this population Most SJF-DP defendants receiving local jail time were disposed as 12.44(a) but those with appointed counsel sentenced to local jail time had a higher percentage disposed as 12.44(a) o 62% of defendants with a SJF-DP only charge sentenced to local jail time were disposed as a 12.44(a) when they had an appointed counsel compared to 52% when they had a retained counsel. Multivariate analysis reinforces above findings, with a person with an appointed attorney being 16% more likely to be convicted than a person with a retained counsel, controlling for all the factors in the data that can impact this outcome Recommendation 4. County officials need to understand the incentives motivating the decisions of appointed counsel and their clients facing a SJF-DP charge and how these incentives may differ for those with hired counsel and explore policy recommendations to improve indigent defense services. Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 4

7 Cases Not Prosecuted Big Picture Finding Because Travis County opens a court docket record based on the police reports and the prosecuting attorneys do not screen cases before this action, 12% of the SJF-DP defendants had their cases rejected for prosecution pre-indictment or placed in pretrial diversion Recommendation 5. County officials should study cases rejected for prosecution pre-indictment or placed in pretrial diversion to better understand the reasons why cases are not prosecuted. 6. County officials need to review the feasibility of instituting a review of charges by the prosecuting attorney prior to a case being filed in order to reduce the number of arrests and bookings where the case is insufficient. 7. County officials need to review options of partnering with the local defense bar and/or the University of Texas School of Law to expunge arrest records of cases not prosecuted or dismissed in ways that could lead to removing the arrest from the person s criminal record. Mental Health Need Big Picture Findings SJF-DP defendants with a longer history of prior arrests were more likely to be identified as having a mental health need o 29% of defendants with six or more arrests were identified as having a mental health need compared to 20% with no prior arrests A higher percentage of B/AA were identified as having a mental health need o 28% of B/AA defendants were identified with a mental health need compared to 27% for White and 23% for H/L Recommendations 8. County officials need to review the quality and capacity of diversion, social services, and treatment programs to reduce the number of defendants with mental health recycling back to jail with a new arrest. Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 5

8 9. County mental health officials need to examine the accessibility and effectiveness of prejustice system mental health services available in B/AA community. Comparison with 2017 Big Picture Findings Conviction rates in 2017 for SJF-DP decreased for B/AA and Whites and increase slightly for H/L o Conviction rate for B/AA disposed in 2017 study group was 84% compared to 90% for the 2016 group. The percentage of people convicted and sentenced to incarceration decreased for B/AA and Whites and stayed the same for H/L o The percentage of people convicted and sentenced to incarceration decreased for B/AA (from 88% to 86%) and Whites (from 75% to 72%) and stayed the same for H/L (at 81%). Recommendations 10. County officials need to review policies that may have effected a decrease in conviction and incarceration rates for B/AA and pinpoint how to expand and increase the quality of these policies to positively impact all appropriate defendants, regardless of race 11. County officials need to evaluate that any of the policies adopted that have impacted a decrease in conviction and incarceration rates are not increasing recidivism and public safety risks Unwarranted Racial Effects in 2016 Data Analysis Big Picture Findings Controlling for sex, priors, risk, attorney type and other independent variables in the multivariate model, race was not a significant predictor of conviction B/AA or H/L defendants were NOT significantly more likely to be convicted than a similarly situated White person. o There are many factors not captured in the data that cannot be part of the model, like for example, education level, family support and residence Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 6

9 Recommendations 12. County officials may want to consider conducting a similar review as conducted here for SJF- DP defendants for a broader population of defendants with felony charges to make sure that no unwarranted racial effects are identified for other populations booked into the Travis County justice system. Council of State Governments, Justice Center: 7

10 JUSTICE )f- CENTER THE COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS Collaborative Approaches to Public Safety Summary of Findings and Recommendations Travis County District Attorney: Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions Dr. Tony Fabelo, Deputy Director Jessy Tyler, Research Manager Emily Rogers, Senior Research Associate Rebecca Cohen, Research Manager Justice Center, Austin, Texas February 23, 2018

11 Overview Background Council of State Governments Justice Center 2

12 Scope of Work Requested by District Attorney Goal Review disposition patterns for State Jail Felony drug possession cases (SJF-DP) Review if there are unwarranted racial effects in the disposition of these cases Make recommendations to improve internal administration or county policies... Quantitative Review Review of case data provided by the DA, matched with Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal History and with Travis County Pretrial Department Qualitative Review Review of internal practices conducted with DA staff Council of State Governments Justice Center 3

13 Various Populations Analyzed Year Number of Defendants 2,081 2,101 Recidivism Analysis Recidivism two-years after disposition Recidivism one-year after disposition 2016 January to October 13, ,458 2,545 Defendants Disposed SJF-DP Profile and disposition analysis prior administration Profile and disposition analysis most recent available under present administration Council of State Governments Justice Center 4

14 Sources of Data and Key Variables District Attorney DPS Criminal History Pretrial/Sheriff Demographics Offense charge and disposed Arrest record lifetime up to date of data pull July 2017 Risk assessment score on the ORAS - PAT Mental Health Flag Other charges Pretrial release type Attorney type Disposition type Descriptive + Multivariate Analysis Multivariate analysis was conducted using the data factors in the 2016 study group. Multivariate analyses allow for the simultaneous consideration of many different factors that combine to influence the likelihood that a defendant be convicted. Council of State Governments Justice Center 5

15 Internal Reports Reviewed by DA Staff and Others October 13, 2018 JUSTICE Jf- CENTER I tn Co1 N( ll 01 SIAI! GO\!R"MINl, (;Ml,,..,_,,,,,,.,,,-1,,,,,.Pt,1,1;,s,,p,, Travis District Attorney Internal Review of Drug Possession Sentencing Patterns Tony Fabelo, Deputy Director Jessy Tyler, Researc h Manage r Emily Rogers, Senior Researc h Associate Internal Report to Travis County District Attorney Justice Center, Austin, Texas Octoberl3,2017 November 30, 2017 JUSTICE Jf- CENTER l 1nCOlNt OISIAltG0 1 '<MINI~ c.,,,,..,,,,;..,,y,,_o,n,.r,,1,1;,s,,fe,y Travis District Attorney: Preliminary Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions Tony Fabela, Deputy Director Jessy Tyler, Research Manage r Emily Rogers, Senior Resea rch Associate Rebecca Cohen, Research Manager Inte rnal Report to Travis County District Attorney JusticeCenter,Austin, Novembef-30,20 17 Texas December 15, 2017 JUSTICE Jf- CENTER IHI Col:-;t Ot Sr,<, ( ; Mt 1~ CM1,,,-,,,.,,.,y,,_,1,n,.r,,1,1;,s,,fe,y Travis District Attorney : Preliminary Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions To ny Fabela, Deputy Director Jessy Tyler, Research Manager Emily Rogers, Senior Research Associate Rebecca Cohe n, Researc h Manager Internal Report to Travis County District Attorney Justice Cente r, Austin, Texas December 15, 2017 February 15, 2018 JUSTICE )f- CENTER l'tn ColS\ 01 S1 If (io s~n,1, c./j,,ih,,-,,..,,.,,-,.,.~r.1,/;,-s.,,fo,; Travis County District Attorney : Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions and Recidivism Analysis Tony Fabelo, Deputy Director Jessy Tyler, Researc h Manager Emily Rogers, Senior Research Associate RebeccaCohen,ResearchManager Internal Report ta Travis County District Attorney JusticeCenter,Austin, Texas Fe bruary 15, 20 17,;,,.,..,., _,_..,... -IS,101' _,,..,.r ~--...,,,...,...,..,,) ""..,..lfrom,_...,,_,...,.,...,,th<..., -...,-.1,,_,_..., --o1,...,.,......,,_..,,...,,... -~~-...,..,,. 1o1-... c,,.,_._..,...,,... c-._...,_..,.,... _,o1,.oi.:-.gotn...,;, c,-..hn-s,,,,ffll..._,_..,,,. "'"''"'..,. -""- -~mo_..,..,...,..,..,._..,,. "", -~---,,.,,,,..t,111,tolll,,-dftor.,,,..,..,_,.. t.of.o, i,_c,..,_iolol i ll.<sl-..,..lwilll_,,. of,_...,.,,.-u.10111u-<s-..;.o,.~ ,,,,_,.<Ofld..: oftmom...,,_,.,,oll,.ool..,_nt>dl-!otlmfl"t,... l01stnc1,,_...,-...,... o11,,os-.,,..,_,.,...,,.,,..., ,...,,,_,.,,,,.,oli,..,_..,...,.,_""""'_,_...-o1,""""''"' _..,.,. ftut ,..,"'...,._,......,,...,1,1;.,,,... _.. <00_.,,,.,.,_.,.,...,..,..,il,...iblt.._,,..,._o1, holdo"C --of-!k1 ">1"illicol <0mtlN'II.Ttii,...i,,,;,...,oonducl.. t,.,,,.;,,_., ~--.._ ,_,,.,......,_..ollm!imll,c,olttiio "-- '"""witll,..,,... IMTrwkeo..nt,Ono&--.. JUSTICE... """'""' "''.. _, Written Summary February 15, 2018 Detailed Findings February 23, 2018 Jf CENTER 1 Ill Col S( 11 <H S 1 >\11 (,ov1 R..,11, 1 s Callabor111iw Appronclm 10 Public Safny Travis County District Attorney: Review of Drug Possession Case Dispositions and Recidivism Analysis Detailed Findings Tony Fabelo, Deputy Directo r Jessy Tyler, Research Manager Emily Rogers, Senio r Research Associate Rebecca Cohen, Research Manage r Internal Report to Travis County District Attorney Justice Center, Au stin, Texas February 23, 2017 Council of State Governments Justice Center 6

16 Overview Summary of Findings Council of State Governments Justice Center 7

17 Travis County Booking Trends 1 2 Overall jail bookings in Travis County decreased by 14% between 2013 and 2017 but bookings of arrestees with State Jail Felonies (SJF) increased by 9% SJF bookings for drug possession increased by 34% Council of State Governments Justice Center 8

18 Travis County State Jail Felony Bookings Have Increased Since 2015 Even as Overall Bookings Have Declined Travis County Bookings, ,289 51,500 48,426 46,782 46,672 % Change: -14% State Jail Felony Bookings, * 5,894 5,885 5,642 5,621 6,130 % Change: 9% Drug Possession State Jail Felony Bookings, ** 2,279 2,540 2,371 2,666 3,056 % Change: 34% *Bookings with any state jail felony charge. **Bookings with any drug possession state jail felony charge. I Council of State Governments Justice Center 9

19 Disproportional Race Distribution 3 Race distribution of SJF was close to the race distribution of all bookings but not the general population of Travis County Disproportionality with General Population Black/AA composed 8% of the Travis County population but 24% of the jail bookings in 2016 and 27% of the SJF bookings Council of State Governments Justice Center 10

20 Race Distribution of State Jail Felons Close to the Race Distribution of All Bookings But Not General Population Travis 2016 US Census Race Distribution* Drug Possession State Jail Felony Bookings, %, 571 1%, 51 1%, 29 White Alone 49% 44% 20,358 42% 2,483 44% 1,172 Hispanic 34% 31% 14,730 30% 1,744 30% 808 AA Alone 8% 24% 11,123 27% 1,607 25% 657 All Bookings State Jail Felony SJF - Drug Possession Black/African American Hispanic/Latino White Other The remaining 9% of Travis County s population is split between Non-Hispanic Asian, Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and those identifying as multi-racial. Arrests and dispositions will not match because: 1. different data sets; 2. year demarcation is sentence year versus booking year so there is a lag; and 3. one person/disposition can have multiple arrests, so the person counts multiple times above and only once in our set. Council of State Governments Justice Center 11

21 Race Distribution - Prior Arrests and Recidivism 4 B/AA and H/L in the 2016 study population of SJF- DP cases disposed had substantially higher number of prior arrests at disposition than Whites B/AA had an average of 11.7 prior arrests, H/L 7.8 and White The overall two-year recidivism rate for cases disposed in 2014 was 51% and the one-year recidivism rate for cases disposed in 2015 was 39% B/AA and H/L have higher two-year recidivism rates than Whites regardless of how the case was disposed Council of State Governments Justice Center 12

22 African-Americans Have Higher Two-Year Recidivism Rates for All Disposition Categories Disposition Race 2015 One-Year Recidivism from Disposition 2014 Two Year Recidivism from Disposition Rate Releases Rate Releases Defendants Cases Dismissed Defendants Disposed to Jail Time (County or State Jail) Defendants Disposed to Supervision Time Black 39% 77 53% 73 Hispanic 27% 82 49% 82 White 20% % 200 Black 54% % 288 Hispanic 46% % 203 White 46% % 338 Black 49% 51 57% 35 Hispanic 33% 46 39% 36 White 24% % 100 N<120 in 2014 and 2015 for Black and Hispanic dismissals and all supervised sentences because of this Recidivism is all cases dismissed regardless of pre/post indictment Council of State Governments Justice Center 13

23 Defense Attorney and Pretrial Release % of the cases disposed in which a record of the attorney representing the case was known (2,370 of the 2,458 study group) had an appointed counsel White defendants had the highest percentage of hired counsel at 45% compared to 36% for Hispanic/Latino and 23% for Black/AA At all risk levels, and by all races, a higher percentage of defendants with retained counsel were released on personal bond Multivariate analysis reinforces the importance of pretrial release on case outcomes, with persons released on bond being 9% less likely to be convicted than a person incarcerated prior to adjudication, controlling for all the factors in the data that can impact this outcome Council of State Governments Justice Center 14

24 Higher Percentage of Defendants with Retained Counsel Were Granted Personal Bond Regardless of Race or Risk Retained Appointed Pretrial Risk Score Race Number with Retained Counsel Percent Personal Bond Percent Cash Bond Percent No Bond Info Total Number with Appointed Counsel Percent Personal Bond Percent Surety/ Cash Bond Percent No Bond Info Total Low Moderate High B 30 80% 10% 10% 100% H/L 66 85% 9% 6% 100% W % 8% 2% 100% B 63 87% 8% 5% 100% H/L 63 75% 8% 17% 100% W % 12% 3% 100% B 13 69% 23% 8% 100% H/L 6 100% 0% 0% 100% W 12 58% 42% 0% 100% 52 56% 2% 42% 100% 39 33% 3% 64% 100% 65 63% 11% 26% 100% % 5% 61% 100% % 11% 45% 100% % 10% 45% 100% 61 28% 3% 69% 100% 44 18% 5% 77% 100% 73 30% 7% 63% 100% Council of State Governments Justice Center 15

25 Counsel and Case Dispositions 11 SJF-DP defendants with hired counsel, at all charge levels, had a lower percentage of guilty dispositions 12 Defendants with hired counsel had lower conviction rates at all charge levels and for most arrest history categories Council of State Governments Justice Center 16

26 Defendants with Hired Counsel Had a Lower Percentage of Guilty Dispositions SJF-DP Only Case Appointed Counsel SJF-DP Only Case Retained/Hired Counsel Guilty 80% Other/NP 9% Guilty 48% Dismissed 11% Other/NP 23% Dismissed 29% *77% of defendants disposed had only on SJF-DP charge Council of State Governments Justice Center 17

27 Conviction Rate Increased with Longer Arrest History But Those with Hired Counsel Had Lower Conviction Rates Conviction Rate by Prior Arrests and Attorney Type, % 90% 80% 82% 84% 86% 74% 90% 81% 94% 94% 87% 86% 70% 60% 50% 50% 46% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% None One 2 to 5 6 to to or More Appointed Hired *Convictions include any charge related to the drug possession case. This excludes 61 cases in which the lawyer type was unknown Council of State Governments Justice Center 18

28 Counsel and Case Dispositions (continued) 13 A lower proportion of defendants with hired counsel, by all races, received state or local jail time compared to those with appointed counsel 14 Most SJF-DP defendants receiving local jail time were disposed as 12.44(a) but those with appointed counsel disposed to local jail time had a higher percentage disposed as 12.44(a) 15 Multivariate analysis reinforces above findings, with a person with an appointed attorney being 16% more likely to be convicted than a person with a retained counsel, controlling for all the factors in the data that can impact this outcome * 12.44(a) of the Texas Penal Code authorizes a court to impose the punishment for a Class A misdemeanor, i.e., time in the county jail Council of State Governments Justice Center 19

29 Lower Percentage of Defendants with Retained Counsel Were Disposed to Jail or State Jail Defendants with Appointed SJ ONLY 2016 Punishment Defendants with Retained SJ ONLY 2016 Punishment County Jail % Deferred 75 9% TDC or SJ % Probation 25 3% Deferred % Probation 19 7% County Jail % TDC or SJ 30 10% 62% Or 382 county jail sentences were 12.44A State or Local Incarceration 87% 52% Or 63 county jail sentences were 12.44A State or Local Incarceration 58% Council of State Governments Justice Center 20

30 Mental Health 16 SJF-DP defendants with a longer history of prior arrests were more likely to be identified as having mental health needs 17 A higher percentage of B/AA were identified as having mental health needs *CCP 12.44(a) of the Texas Penal Code authorizes a court to impose the punishment for a Class A misdemeanor, i.e., time in the county jail Council of State Governments Justice Center 21

31 Higher Percentage of B/AA and White and Those with Longer Arrest Records Had a Mental Health Code I I I I I I Total # # PSY % PSY Total # # PSY % PSY Black % % Latino % % White % % Total 2, % 2, % Total # # PSY % PSY Total # # PSY % PSY Zero % % One % % % % 6+ 1, % 1, % Total 2, % 2, % I I I I Total are total cases prosecuted with race/ethnicity information and SID numbers allowing for criminal history matching Council of State Governments Justice Center 22

32 Unwarranted Racial Effects 18 Controlling for sex, priors, risk, attorney type and other independent variables in the multivariate model, race was not a significant predictor of conviction B/AA or H/L defendants were NOT significantly more likely to be convicted than a similarly situated White person. Council of State Governments Justice Center 23

33 For Two Otherwise Similar Individuals Race was NOT a Significant Factor in Explaining Convictions Key Takeaways Controlling for sex, priors, risk, attorney type, etc. (see list of independent variables in model), race was not a significant predictor of conviction; a Black or Latino person was NOT significantly more likely to be convicted than a similarly situated White person. A person with an appointed attorney was 16% more likely to be convicted than an otherwise similar person with retained counsel. A person with bond was 9% LESS likely to be convicted than an otherwise similar person without a bond. A person with an identified MH need was 14% LESS likely to be convicted than an otherwise similar person without a MH need. Race not Predictive +16% More likely Conv w/ Appointed Counsel -9% Less likely conviction with bond release -14% Less likely conviction for PSY flagged Controlling for everything else (race, sex, risk, attorney type, etc.), an increase in risk level from low to medium or medium to high was associated with a small (4%) increase in likelihood of conviction. +4% More likely Conv as risk increased Council of State Governments Justice Center 24

34 Comparison 2016 vs Disposition 19 Conviction rates in 2017 for SJF-DP decreased for B/AA and Whites and increase slightly for H/L 20 The percentage of people convicted and sentenced to incarceration decreased for B/AA and Whites and stayed the same for H/L Council of State Governments Justice Center 25

35 Bond Release, Retained Counsel, Conviction Rate, and Incarceration Rate Improved for B/AA in 2017 Study Group Outcome Year Black/AA % Bond Release Hispanic/ Latino White % % % * 49% % % 496 % Personal Bond Release % % % % % % 388 % with Retained Counsel % 88 34% % % 99 33% % 280 % Convicted % Incarceration** % % % % % % % % % % % % percentage point increase in retained counsel for AA coincided with increase of pre adjudicative release and may contribute to less convictions and/or less dispositions to incarceration *2017 is January October 13, 2017 **More missing information in 2017 than 2016 Council of State Governments Justice Center 26

36 Overview Recommendations Council of State Governments Justice Center 27

37 Recommendations 1 County officials need to review law enforcement practices to understand why bookings for SJF drug possessions have increased while overall bookings have gone down Officials need to review law enforcement practices to understand pattern of higher arrests for B/AA and H/L. 2 County officials need to review community concerns about drug abuse, mental health, and associated problems and whether sufficient alternatives to arrest exist to address these concerns 3 As above for recommendation one and two, county officials need to review law enforcement practices to understand pattern of higher arrests for B/AA and H/L. Council of State Governments Justice Center 28

38 Recommendations (continued) 4 County officials need to understand the incentives motivating the decisions of appointed counsel and their clients facing a SJF-DP change and how these incentives may differ for those with hired counsel and explore policy recommendations to improve indigent defense services 5 County officials should study cases rejected for prosecution pre-indictment or placed in pretrial diversion to better understand the reasons why cases are not prosecuted 6 County officials need to review the feasibility of instituting a review of charges by the prosecuting attorney prior to a case being filed in order to reduce the number of arrests and bookings where the case is insufficient Council of State Governments Justice Center 29

39 Recommendations (continued) 7 County officials need to review options of partnering with the local defense bar and/or the University of Texas School of Law to expunge arrest records of cases not prosecuted or dismissed in ways that could lead to removing the arrest from the person s criminal record 8 County officials need to review the quality and capacity of diversion, social services, and treatment programs to reduce the number of defendants with mental health recycling back to jail with a new arrest. 9 County mental health officials need to examine the accessibility and effectiveness of pre-justice system mental health services available in B/AA community. Council of State Governments Justice Center 30

40 Recommendations (continued) 10 County officials need to review policies that may have effected a decrease in conviction and incarceration rates for B/AA and pinpoint how to expand and increase the quality of these policies to positively impact all appropriate defendants, regardless of race 11 County officials need to evaluate that any of the policies adopted that have impacted a decrease in conviction and incarceration rates are not increasing recidivism and public safety risks 12 County officials may want to consider conducting a similar review as conducted here for SJF-DP defendants for a broader population of defendants with felony charges to make sure that no unwarranted racial effects are identified for other populations booked into the Travis County justice system. Council of State Governments Justice Center 31

41 Thank You Council of State Governments Justice Center 32