Mason Burley - January 2007

In recent years, the manufacture and production of methamphetamine in small homemade labs has declined significantly. Changes at both the state and federal level have restricted the supply and availability of pseudoephedrine, a major precursor in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Demand for methamphetamine, however, remains high. According to law enforcement officials, much of the methamphetamine available today is supplied by drug trafficking organizations from Mexico. As manufacturing of methamphetamine declines, trafficking and distribution is becoming a regional issue that states and the federal government must address cooperatively.

The 2006 Washington State Legislature asked the Institute to examine "criminal sentencing increases necessary under Washington law to reduce or remove any incentives methamphetamine traffickers and manufacturers may have to locate in Washington." This report looks at differences in sentencing laws for methamphetamine possession, manufacture, and distribution in Washington and neighboring states. The report provides opinions from experts in steps Washington may take to curb the availability and use of methamphetamine.

Jim Mayfield - January 2007

Washington State's Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender (DMIO) program, enabled by the 1999 Legislature, identifies mentally ill prisoners who pose a threat to public safety and provides them services and treatment up to five years after their release from prison.

WSIPP and the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training were directed by the legislature to evaluate the program.

Elizabeth Drake - December 2006

The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) was directed by the Legislature to evaluate the impacts of DOSA. DOSA was originally enacted in 1995 as a sentencing alternative. When ordered by a court, a felony offender’s sentence time is reduced in exchange for completing chemical dependency treatment. Prior to 2005 legislation, DOSA was restricted to a “prison-based” treatment alternative. The 2005 changes created a “community-based” DOSA for offenders with non-prison sentences. Because only 30 offenders have received this community alternative to date, further implementation is necessary before an evaluation of the community-based DOSA can be completed. This report updates our 2005 study of the original “prison-based” DOSA, extending the follow-up from 24 to 36-months. In our earlier report, we found that recidivism rates were lower for drug offenders receiving DOSA, but not for property offenders. With a 36-month follow-up, our findings did not change. That is, prison-based DOSA significantly lowers recidivism rates for drug offenders, but has no statistically significant effect on recidivism rates of property offenders.

Elizabeth Drake - November 2006

In 2006, the Office of Financial Management contracted with the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to conduct an audit of the Washington State criminal history records systems for adult felonies. Databases included in the audit are from the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Department of Corrections, the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, and the Washington State Patrol. This report is the first of a series and describes the research design and databases to be included in the study. The final report of the series will be completed by April 2007.

Steve Aos, Marna Miller, Elizabeth Drake - October 2006

Under current long-term forecasts, Washington State faces the need to construct several new prisons in the next two decades. Since new prisons are costly, the 2005 Washington Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to project whether there are “evidence-based” options that can: a) reduce the future need for prison beds, b) save money for state and local taxpayers, and c) contribute to lower crime rates. This report describes our findings and discusses how we conducted the analysis. We review evidence-based adult corrections, juvenile corrections, and prevention options and analyze the effects of alternative portfolios of these investments.

Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski, Laura Harmon - September 2006

The Institute was contracted by the Office of Financial Management to determine the completeness and accuracy of Washington State’s criminal history databases for adult felons. The following databases are included in the study: the Washington State Patrol, the Department of Corrections, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the Sentencing Guidelines Commission. This presentation discusses the proposed research design for the study. The final report will be completed by April 2007.

Robert Barnoski - June 2006

This report examines trends in Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) participation as a first step in identifying a valid comparison group needed to evaluate the impact of SOTP on recidivism.

Robert Barnoski - June 2006

This report estimates whether the Sex Offender Treatment Program (SOTP) reduces recidivism by comparing the recidivism rates of sex offenders who were willing but did not participate in SOTP with those who did participate in the program.

Elizabeth Drake, Robert Barnoski - March 2006

This report focuses on trends of adult sex offenders in Washington and summarizes key research findings.

Robert Barnoski - February 2006

This report analyzes the relative accuracy of the LSI-R in predicting felony sex recidivism for Washington State sex offenders.