Elizabeth Drake - November 2007

The 2007 Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate whether participation in Washington’s work release facilities impacts key outcomes, such as recidivism. The Institute was also directed to conduct a comprehensive review of all research evidence on work releases.

Elizabeth Drake, Laura Harmon, Robert Barnoski - October 2007

In 2005, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) obtained grant funding and contracted with the Institute to conduct an audit of Washington State's criminal history records systems for adult felonies. Databases included in the audit are from the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Department of Corrections (DOC), Sentencing Guidelines Commission (SGC), and Washington State Patrol (WSP). The audit focuses on the completeness and accuracy of Washington's criminal history data system.

Our findings demonstrate that, although the state's criminal justice databases are not 100 percent accurate and complete, they are reasonably accurate. The databases can be improved by relying on: fingerprints for offender identification, electronic transmission of data without manual intervention, and a multi-agency criminal records work group to implement improvements.

Scott Matson, Roxanne Lieb - October 2007

Nine states have statutes that authorize the confinement and treatment of highly dangerous sex offenders following completion of their criminal sentence: Arizona, California, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. These laws are commonly referred to as “sexual predator” laws. Other statutes authorize commitment and treatment for sex offenders as an alternative to sentencing. This paper reviews the four principle categories of civil commitment laws for dangerous sex offenders. Summaries of individual state statutes are also included.

Kathy Gookin - August 2007

In 1990, the Washington State Legislature passed a new form of involuntary commitment for sex offenders identified as “sexually violent predators” (SVPs). This law permits the state to retain custody of individuals found by a judge or jury to pose risks for reoffending.

This report updates the Institute’s 2005 study, “Involuntary Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators: Comparing State Laws,” and compares the now 20 states that have enacted or are planning to implement SVP laws. The 2005 report covered data through 2004; this report extends the timeframe through 2006 and includes information on the number of residents, discharges, and program costs.

Lucy Berliner - August 2007

This report explores the views of child victims and their parents in sex offense cases from three Washington State counties: Benton, King, and Snohomish. All offenses were eligible for the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA), a sentencing option that incorporates a jail sentence followed by outpatient treatment and supervision.

Elizabeth Drake - August 2007

The 2007 Legislature established a pilot program called Community Transition Coordination Networks for offenders reentering the community from confinement (ESSB 6157). The Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) was tasked to review county proposals and select up to four CTCN pilot projects to receive grant funding. The Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy, by September 1, 2007, to recommend criteria for assisting CTED during the grant review process.

Robert Barnoski - August 2007

In 1975, the Washington State Legislature established a deferred prosecution option for offenders arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or impairing drugs (DUI). This option was intended to encourage individuals to seek appropriate treatment. Under this option, defendants with a significant alcohol or drug dependence problem may petition the court to defer disposition of their charge until they have completed intensive substance dependence treatment and met other conditions required by the court.

Another option invoked to encourage treatment is prosecutor diversion, which allows the court to maintain supervision over defendants and impose conditions, including treatment and victim restitution.

In 2005, the legislature authorized the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to use federal funds to contract with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) to evaluate the impact on recidivism of deferred prosecution, including prosecutor diversion, for DUI cases. In addition, this report examines whether DUI recidivism rates changed after 1998, when legislation was passed limiting eligibility and lengthening the supervision period for the deferred prosecution program.

Cheryl Milloy - June 2007

Washington’s Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) statute permits the involuntary commitment of persons found by a jury to meet the statutory definition of a sexually violent predator. In a previous report, the Institute examined the recidivism of 89 released sex offenders referred by the Department of Corrections (DOC) as meeting the filing standards for civil commitment petitions, but for whom no petitions were filed.

This report extends the results of the previous study by adding 46 individuals who were referred by sources other than the DOC.

Robert Barnoski, Elizabeth Drake - March 2007

The Offender Accountability Act (OAA) was enacted by the Washington State Legislature in 1999. The OAA requires the Department of Corrections (DOC) to supervise felony offenders according to their risk for future offending.

In a 2003 report, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) analyzed the validity of DOC’s risk for reoffense instrument, the Level of Service Inventory—Revised (LSI-R). As part of the analysis, the Institute suggested that the predictive accuracy of the LSI-R could be strengthened by including more static risk information about an offender’s prior record of convictions. DOC subsequently asked the Institute to develop a new static risk instrument based on offender demographics and criminal history.

This report describes our evaluation of the validity of the static risk instrument developed for DOC. In October 2008, we updated Appendix C of the report to include the intercepts or constants for the three static risk score calculations. These intercepts are added to the summed weighted item scores to produce the risk scores. These constants are +20, +15, and +10 respectively for the Felony, Property & Violent, and Violent Risk Scores.

David Lovell, Jim Mayfield - March 2007

In 1999, legislation was passed to better identify and provide additional mental health treatment for mentally ill offenders who were released from prison, who pose a threat to public safety, and agree to participate in the program. A “Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender” (DMIO) is defined by the legislation as a person with a mental disorder who has been determined to be dangerous to self or others.

As part of its legislative mandate, the Washington State Institute for Public Policy has published a series of reports that evaluate the DMIO program. A 2005 report demonstrated that the DMIO program significantly reduced recidivism after 1 1/2 years, and the 2007 follow-up report found that reductions in recidivism were sustained at the 2 1/2 year mark. The benefit-cost analysis in that report indicated that the reductions in DMIO recidivism generated financial benefits to taxpayers that were more than program costs.

This report examines how DMIO program funds are being used, how services and billings are tracked, changes in mental health funding, interagency collaboration, and how these impact program viability.