Population: Low-Income Populations

People Involved in the Criminal Justice System

MDRC evaluates reforms to the criminal legal system—from arrest and the pretrial period through the reentry process for returning citizens and parole— to reduce unnecessary incarceration, support public safety, lessen racial and economic inequities, improve the lives of the people and communities most impacted, and diminish the role of the system in perpetuating poverty.

The Latest
Brief

Effectiveness of Pretrial Special Conditions

Many jurisdictions use electronic monitoring (the use of electronic devices to monitor people’s locations) and sobriety monitoring (drug and alcohol testing) as alternatives to pretrial detention. Drawing on nonexperimental analyses, this brief reports that neither form of monitoring improves court appearance rates or the avoidance of new arrests.

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Brief

Effectiveness of Varying Intensities of Pretrial Supervision

In place of bail, many jurisdictions are instead releasing people awaiting trial with varying levels of supervision in an effort to ensure that they appear in court and avoid new arrests. This brief compares the relative effectiveness of different intensities of pretrial supervision.

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Key Documents
Issue Focus

Reforming Enforcement-Oriented Public Systems

Improving Outcomes for Clients While Helping Systems Further Their Missions

This issue focus describes how MDRC is helping administrators in criminal justice and child support enforcement test innovative reforms to improve the way their systems interact with low-income people, particularly men of color. 

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Brief

New York City’s Pretrial Supervised Release Program

An Alternative to Bail

Defendants awaiting trial and unable to post bail are often detained in local jails unnecessarily, disrupting their lives and adding to costs for taxpayers. To address this situation, New York City has launched a program that gives judges the option to release some defendants to community-based supervision. 

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Report

Implementing the Next Generation of Parole Supervision

Findings from the Changing Attitudes and Motivation in Parolees Pilot Study

A training program for parole officers in Dallas, Denver, and Des Moines sought to address the persistently high recidivism rates among individuals leaving prison. This study’s results show that officers generally already knew many of the curriculum’s concepts, and changes to their practices were limited.

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