Cases Day Custody 09

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CJA

Research Brief No. 20

NEW YORK CITY CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY, Inc.

May 2009

A series of reports summarizing current research from fro CJA Executive Director, Jerome E. McElroy Director, Research Dept., Richard R. Peterson, Ph.D. Research Brief Editor & Deputy Director, Research, Mary T. Phillips, Ph.D. Graphics & Production, Raymond P. Caligiure Administrative Associate, Annie Su

CJA is a not-for-profit corporation that provides a variety of criminal justice services under a contract with the City of New York. CJA staff interview defendants arrested in New York City, make recommendations for pretrial release, and notify released defendants of upcoming court dates. Within the Agency, the Research Department conducts studies covering a broad array of criminal justice policy concerns. The Research Brief series summarizes the results of some of these studies. New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc. 52 Duane Street New York, NY 10007 PHONE: 646 213-2500 FAX: 646 213-2650 WEB: www.nycja.org © 2009 NYC Criminal Justice Agency, Inc.

The CASES Day Custody Program By Freda F. Solomon, Ph.D. Creating an alternative to short jail sentences for recidivist misdemeanor defendants The Day Custody Program (DCP) is a project of the Center for Alternative Sentencing and Employment Services (CASES), created in partnership with the New York City Department of Correction (DOC). DCP provides an alternative sentencing option in some misdemeanor-prosecuted cases convicted at Criminal Court arraignment in which a jail sentence would otherwise be imposed. It currently is available only at the downtown Manhattan court location. DCP is a selective program requiring that cases and defendants meet a variety of criteria. Program eligibility requirements include that defendants have at least three prior misdemeanor convictions, and further requires consent to the program sentence by other court personnel including defense attorneys, judges, and the defendant him/ herself. In addition, program staff may

not advocate for defendants in Spotlightdesignated cases, a criminal justice program targeting a specific subgroup of active recidivist defendants in misdemeanor cases. However, defendants in Spotlight cases may receive a DCP sentence if an application for the program is made by other court personnel, or in instances in which the case appears to be eligible because court papers are not properly marked. The research describes characteristics of program participants and cases, reports on successful completion and failure rates, assesses penalties imposed for program failure, and describes and compares the characteristics of rejected cases and defendants. Selected issues related to recidivism among all program-sentenced defendants, and separately among successful program clients, are examined in comparison with a pre-program period.

This Research Brief is adapted from The Day Custody Program: First Year Report (2008) and The Day Custody Program: Second Year Report (2008) by Senior Research Fellow Freda F. Solomon, Ph.D. The full reports (and Executive Summaries) are available on CJA’s web site: www.nycja.org/research/research.htm Project Co-Director: Elyse J. Revere Research Assistance: Steve Mardenfeld Systems Programming: Geraldine Staehs-Goirn Address comments to the author at fsolomon@nycja.org Please cite as follows, adapted to your citation style: Solomon, Freda F. 2009. “The CASES Day Custody Program.” Research Brief series, no. 20. New York: New York City Criminal Justice Agency, Inc.


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