Visualizing Per Capita Program Costs of Pretrial Community Supervision in Brooklyn, New York

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

New York City’s pretrial Supervised Release Program (SRP) is a community-based alternative to bail and pretrial detention. Run by nonprofit organizations in each borough, the program combines regular check-ins with voluntary referrals to supportive services. In partnership with the Brooklyn-based SRP agency, Brooklyn Justice Initiatives, researchers analyzed 2021 budget and caseload data to estimate per-participant program costs. Two methods were employed: 1) a new participants model and 2) an average daily population model. Additionally, estimates were broken out by program tracks to which a participant can be assigned: “Tier 1” designating less frequent, and “Tier 2” designating more frequent/intensive supervision requirements. Estimates of around $6,000 - $11,000 per SRP participant are dwarfed by recent calculations of annual NYC jail costs per incarcerated person of over $250,000 (NYC Comptroller, 2021); a monetary cost that fails to encompass the collateral social, familial, economic, health, and public safety costs of incarceration. Researchers then mapped SRP spending by participants’ home addresses. This visualization highlights the disproportionate concentration of criminal legal system involvement within certain Brooklyn neighborhoods, while simultaneously inviting the audience to consider the impact that increased community investment (instead of spending on jails) could have on those same vulnerable populations.

Authors

• Bernie Langer, Center for Court Innovation

• Erin Koyle, Center for Court Innovation

• Daniel O'Brien, Center for Court Innovation