February 23, 2017 By CSG Justice Center Staff Screenshot 2017-01-05 12.40.27The National Reentry Resource Center (NRRC) released in January A Five-Level Risk and Needs System: Maximizing Assessment Results in Corrections through the Development of a Common Language, a white paper geared toward researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who share the goal of reducing recidivism by improving the application of risk and needs assessments. Developed with funding support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the white paper presents a model to support the implementation of Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) principles through a standardized five-level risk and needs assessment system. Criminogenic risk and needs assessments provide a roadmap for effective correctional rehabilitation initiatives. When properly understood and implemented, they can help correctional organizations provide the types and dosages of services that are empirically related to reductions in reoffending. Although risk and needs assessment instruments are all intended to measure the same things, the field has not as yet set standards or specifications about the terminology used to describe risk and needs categories across all of these instruments. Over the past two years, the NRRC, in partnership with Public Safety Canada, has facilitated efforts to standardize the terminology associated with risk and needs levels and improve the interpretation and application of risk and needs assessment results in correctional settings. With expert guidance from a diverse group of collaborators, including researchers, risk and needs assessment instrument developers, practitioners, and leaders in the field; and drawing on extensive review of the literature and related research, observations of programs in the field, feedback from national experts, several multidisciplinary forums and advisory group discussions, and a rigorous review process, the paper provides the following: •An overview of the RNR principles, which are used by criminal justice professionals to identify a person’s risk of recidivism and allocate resources and deliver tailored services accordingly •A standardized five-level risk and needs assessment system to inform case planning, guide how corrections and criminal justice professionals classify risk and needs, and help identify people who can benefit most from intervention •Case examples to illustrate each of the five proposed risk and needs levels Additional research will be conducted to support the development of the five-level system for widespread use in the U.S. Through a partnership with the NRRC, Dr. Faye Taxman of George Mason University and Dr. Daryl Kroner of Southern Illinois University will examine multi-year data—including recidivism data and information on risk and needs—from various sources to further refine the five risk and needs levels for practical application in correctional settings. Upon refinement and validation of the five-level system, the NRRC and its partners then plan to pilot test the model in several sites across the country.
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL
Fifth progress report towards an effective and genuine Security Union COM/2017/0203 final
Why a new European Agenda on Security? The EU and its Member States face several new and complex security threats, highlighting the need for further synergies and closer cooperation at all levels. Many of today's security concerns originate from instability in the EU's immediate neighbourhood and changing forms of radicalisation, violence and terrorism. Threats are becoming more varied and more international, as well as increasingly cross-border and cross-sectorial in nature. These threats require an effective and coordinated response at European level. The European Agenda on Security sets out how the Union can bring added value to support the Member States in ensuring security. The European Agenda on SecuritySearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN ••• implements the Political Guidelines of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the area of security and replaces the previous Internal Security Strategy (2010-2014). What are the priorities of the European Agenda on Security for the next 5 years? Whilst the EU must remain vigilant to other emerging threats that also require a coordinated EU response, the Agenda prioritises terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime as interlinked areas with a strong cross-border dimension, where EU action can make a real difference. The Agenda builds on the actions undertaken in the last years, under the previous internal security strategy, thus ensuring consistent and continued action. The EU has already put in place a range of legal, practical, and support tools to underpin a European area of internal security. Now it is time to work better and more closely together. The success of the tools that the Union has put in place in recent years relies, first of all, on responsibility-sharing, mutual trust and effective cooperation between all actors involved, EU institutions and agencies, Member States and national authorities. The European Agenda on Security aims to strengthen the tools that the EU provides to national law enforcement authorities to fight terrorism and cross-border crime. In particular, the Agenda focuses on improving information exchanges and operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities. It also mobilises a number of EU instruments to support actions through training, funding and research and innovation. Finally, the Agenda sets out a number of targeted actions to be taken at EU level, to step up the fight against terrorism, organised crime and cybercrime. Tackling security threats whilst upholding European values To maximise the benefits of existing EU measures and, where necessary, deliver new and complementary actions, all actors involved have to work together based on five key principles: ◾Ensure full compliance with fundamental rights; ◾Guarantee more transparency, accountability and democratic control; ◾Ensure better application and implementation of existing EU legal instruments; ◾Provide a more joined-up inter-agency and a cross-sectorial approach; ◾Bring together all internal and external dimensions of security.
On 6-7 June 2017 CEP will organize a conference on Young adult offenders, as a follow-up of the very successful one in Lillestrom, Norway, 31 August-1 September 2016. This time the event will take place in Barcelona and treat further into deep the aspects that come up and occur when working with Youth and Young adult offenders. Over the last ten years approximately, the question of how to respond appropriately to the offending of young adults has emerged as a point of increased focus within international criminological research and criminal policy. Responding to juvenile offending is a unique policy and practice challenge. While a substantial proportion of crime is perpetuated by juveniles, most juveniles will ‘grow out’ of offending and adopt law-abiding lifestyles as they mature. It is argued that a range of factors, including juveniles’ lack of maturity, propensity to take risks and susceptibility to peer influence, as well as intellectual disability, mental illness and victimisation, increase juveniles’ risks of contact with the criminal justice system. These factors, combined with juveniles’ unique capacity to be rehabilitated, can require intensive and often expensive interventions by the juvenile justice system
DIW Economic Bulletin 3/4 / 2017 Stefan Bach, Herbert Brücker, Peter Haan, Agnese Romiti, Kristina van Deuverden, Enzo Weber The initial fiscal costs associated with refugee integration are quite high—but as more and more refugees join the labor force, a reduction in ongoing welfare costs and an increase in government revenue will result. Against this background, the Institute for Em-ployment Research (IAB) in Nuremberg and DIW Berlin conducted a joint investigation (funded by the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs) into the overall economic and fiscal impacts of investing in the labor market integration of the refugees who arrived in Germany in 2015. The results show that investing in refugees’ language skills and educational qualifications promises high returns.
The European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) provides a platform for its members to discuss and disseminate best practices in crime prevention. Essential in identifying best practices in crime prevention, is the evaluation of crime prevention projects. A crucial step in any evaluation process is the identification and registration of indicators (EUCPN 2013, UNODC 2010, Morgan & Homel 2013). Indicators provide measurable information on the implementation, efficiency and effectiveness of a crime prevention programme. They can be applied to evaluate projects against specific criteria in an intersubjective and rigorous manner. Information on the identification and use of indicators in the evaluation process of crime prevention projects is nevertheless currently lacking. The EUCPN has therefore commissioned this study to provide an overview of relevant indicators and their application in the evaluation of crime prevention projects.