In support of the Turks & Caicos Department of Rehabilitation and Community Services, the project team is creating a 5-year strategic plan to assist in the development and implementation of effective supervision and treatment practices. Using a collaborative process, the team is drawing on stakeholder interviews, a gap analysis, and a review of existing documents and policies to guide a multi-disciplinary workgroup through a SWOT analysis. Results of the review and analyses will be used as the base of a strategic plan centered around focus areas including staff, programs and services, partnerships, infrastructure, and community outreach.

Project Team: Debi Koetzle, Jeff Mellow, Stephanie Spiegel

Knowing about the experiences of those in prison is important generally, and especially for countries that may not have as many resources available. In the last decades, several Central American countries have implemented ambitious criminal justice reforms, including transitioning from an inquisitorial to an accusatorial model of criminal justice—Guatemala in 1994, Honduras in 2002, and Panama in 2011—however, relatively few crimes are punished and many of the prisons in Central America remain overcrowded. With this project, are assessing how an individual’s experience in the criminal justice system and life in prison impacts their perception of justice. Having equal access to justice matters and this includes people in prison. With funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and in collaboration with our partners at University Institute of Public Opinion in San Salvador, we developed and implemented the Inmate Perceptions of Procedural Justice and Correctional Standards of Care survey that is designed to measure perceptions of due process, procedural justice, and adherence to the rule of law as experienced by those living in prison. Over 5,000 people in prison have been interviewed with results to be presented in spring 2024.

Project Team: Debi Koetzle, Veronica Michel, Jeff Mellow, Irina Fanarraga, and Sebastian Galleguillos with Joel Capellan, Laura Andrade, Ian Kaufman, and Rodrigo Castro Cornejo.

Related Publications:

Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Michel, V., Fanarraga, I., Andrade, L., Galleguillos, S., & Castro Cornejo, R. (2024). Accusatorial Transition and Inmate Survey Findings: Honduras. New York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Spanish Version: Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Michel, V., Fanarraga, V., Andrade, I., & Galleguillos, S. y Castro Cornejo, R. (2024). Transición al Sistema Penal Acusatorio y Resultados de la Encuesta a Privados de Libertad: Honduras. Nueva York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Michel, V., Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Capellán, J., Andrade, L., Fanarraga, I., Galleguillos, S., & Kaufman, I. (2024). Accusatorial Transition and Inmate Survey Findings: Guatemala. New York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Spanish Version: Michel, V., Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Capellán, J., Andrade, L., Fanarraga, I., Galleguillos, S. y Kaufman, I. (2024). Transición al Sistema Penal Acusatorio y Resultados de la Encuesta a Privados de Libertad: Guatemala. Nueva York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Michel, V , Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Capellán, J., Andrade, L., Fanarraga, I., Galleguillos, S., & Kaufman, I. (2023). Accusatorial Transition and Inmate Survey Findings: Panama. New York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Spanish Version: Michel, V., Koetzle, D., Mellow, J., Capellán, J., Andrade, L., Fanarraga, I., Galleguillos, S., & Kaufman, I.. (2023). Transición al Sistema Penal Acusatorio y Resultados de la Encuesta a Privados de Libertad: Panamá. Nueva York, NY: John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Text: Severe prison overcrowding is a significant problem facing many prison systems in Latin America. Developing effective strategies to decrease the high overcapacity rates is complex, with a confluence of factors impacting prison crowding. These factors include strict sentencing guidelines, limited opportunities for program participation, restrictive mandatory release policies, understaffed Criminological Technical Teams (CTT), and antiquated policies and procedures. CTT are designed to address overcrowding by updating inmate case files, identifying individuals eligible rehabilitative phase advancement and early release, and making recommendations to the regional and national Criminological Councils and judiciary. With funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), We hired, trained, managed and evaluated 46 staff members to assess the inmates for rehabilitation phase advancement and early release. The study also focuses on challenges encountered by the teams and system-level barriers to advancing individuals through the rehabilitative system. Research findings are drawn from interviews with technical team members and weekly reports from eight participating prisons.  Research and policy implications are discussed.

Related Publications:

Mellow, J., Koetzle, D., & and Vasquez, L. (2019). Evaluación de Equipos Técnicos        Criminológicos para Reducir el Hacinamiento en las Prisiones Salvadoreñas

(Assessing Criminological Technical Teams to Reduce Overcrowding in Salvadoran Prisons). Revista de la Maestría en Administración Pública: Administración Pública y Políticas de Reinserción Social (special issue on public administration and reintegration policies)

Koetzle, D. & Mellow, J. (2019). Mejorando la Gestión Penitenciaria y la Reintegración en la Comunidad a Través del Riesgo, la Necesidad y la Responsividad (Improving Prison Management and Community Reintegration through Risk, Need, and Responsivity). Revista de la Maestría en Administración Pública: Administración Pública y Políticas de Reinserción Social. (special issue on public administration and reintegration policies)

Risk Need Assessments (RNA) are standardized tools to help determine the likelihood of recidivism. Using these tools can help to improve decision-making and outcomes. Despite empirical support for their use, relatively few jurisdictions in Latin America and the Caribbean have adopted these tools. Commissioned by USAID and supported by American Institutes for Research, we designed this interactive practical for people who work with criminal justice or juvenile justice involved youth. The focus of this guide is on identifying and implementing tools that help to assess and manage the risk of future delinquency and criminal behavior, including violent behaviors. This guide is specifically focused on assessing the risk of reoffending for use in tertiary prevention

Related Publications:

In English: Practical Guide to Youth Risk and Need Assessments in Latin America and the Caribbean

In Spanish: Guía práctica de evaluaciones de riesgos  y necesidades para jóvenes en  América Latina y el Caribe

Using standardized assessments to assess the risk, needs, and responsivity of individuals under supervision is an evidence-based practice. With funding from the Inter-American Development Bank, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas sought to implement the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory and the Youth Level of Service Inventory in the Bahamas Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services (DRWS) and the Bahamas Department of Corrections (DOCS). Project activities included initial and booster trainings on the risk/need assessments along with training on an electronic case management system. A total of 18 staff completed the training process.