Highlights from DOJ press release and fact sheet on FIRST STEP Act implementation

The US Department of Justice today released this press release titled "Department Of Justice Announces the Release of 3,100 Inmates Under First Step Act, Publishes Risk And Needs Assessment System."  Here are some highlights:

The Department of Justice today announced three major developments related to the implementation of the First Step Act of 2018 (FSA):

• Over 3,100 federal prison inmates will be released from the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) custody as a result of the increase in good conduct time under the Act. In addition, the Act’s retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (reducing the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine threshold amounts triggering mandatory minimum sentences) has resulted in 1,691 sentence reductions.
• The prioritization of $75 million in existing resources to fully fund the FSA implementation from the 2019 budget. The Department will continue its work with Congress to ensure additional funding is appropriated for FY2020 and future years.
• The publication of the FSA Risk and Needs Assessment System (RNAS) that will help identify all federal prison inmates who may qualify for pre-release custody by participating in authorized recidivism reduction programming and/or productive activities....

Compassionate Release. The BOP updated its policies to reflect the new procedures for inmates to obtain “compassionate release” sentence reductions under 18 U.S.C. Section 3582 and 4205(g). Since the Act was signed into law, 51 requests have been approved, as compared to 34 total in 2018.

Expanded Use of Home Confinement. The FSA authorizes BOP to maximize the use of home confinement for low risk offenders. Currently, there are approximately 2,000 inmates on Home Confinement. The legislation also expands a pilot program for eligible elderly and terminally ill offenders to be transitioned to Home Confinement as part of a pilot program. Since enactment of the law, 201 inmates have qualified to be transitioned under the pilot program.

Drug Treatment. The BOP has always had a robust drug treatment strategy. Offenders with an identified need are provided an individualized treatment plan to address their need. About 16,000 BOP inmates are currently enrolled in drug treatment programs, including the well-regarded Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP).....

The Risk and Needs Assessment Tool – PATTERN

The Attorney General’s publication of a risk and needs assessment system was a key requirement of the FSA, signed into law by President Trump on Dec. 21, 2018. The publication of the RNAS report makes the changes in the law to good conduct time effective.

The RNAS is among several robust measures the Department has taken to implement the FSA, which seeks to reduce risk and recidivism among the prison population and assist inmates’ successful reintegration into society.  The new system will be used to assess all federal inmates for risk and identify criminogenic needs that can be addressed by evidence-based programs, such as drug treatment, job training, and education. The system was developed in consultation with the FSA-established Independent Review Committee (IRC), the BOP, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the National Institute of Corrections, and over two dozen stakeholders groups.

The new tool to be used by the BOP is called the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN). PATTERN is designed to predict the likelihood of general and violent recidivism for all BOP inmates. As required by the FSA, PATTERN contains static risk factors (e.g. age and crime of conviction) as well as dynamic items (i.e. participation or lack of participation in programs like education or drug treatment) that are associated with either an increase or a reduction in risk of recidivism. The PATTERN assessment tool provides predictive models, or scales, developed and validated for males and females separately.

The PATTERN assessment, modeled specifically for the federal prison population, achieves a higher level of predictability and surpasses what is commonly found for risk assessment tools for correctional populations in the U.S.

The RNAS report will be available on the department’s website later today at www.nij.gov.

The RNAS will be subject to a 45-day study period beginning with the publication of the System. Starting Monday, July 22, the public may send comments to [email protected]. This study period allows stakeholders to review and analyze the System. After the study period, NIJ will hold a special listening session on the RNAS in early September.

In addition DOJ has released this First Step Act Implementation Fact Sheet, and here is one highlight therefrom:

I. Retroactive Application of Fair Sentencing Act (Crack: Powder)

The Act’s retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (reducing the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine threshold amounts triggering mandatory minimum sentences) has resulted in 1,691 sentence reductions