Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013

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The Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013 is also known as S. 1675. It was presented to the 113th Congress by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The bill, along with others such as Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013 and The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013, are aimed at improving over-crowded federal prison system and reducing re-entry, or Recidivism, of non-violent offenders. The bill was first introduced on November 7, 2013.

The original Library of Congress text read:

Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to direct the Bureau of Prisons to offer evidence-based recidivism reduction programs to prisoners who have been assessed to need to participate in such programs.
Permits a reduction in the period a prisoner remains in custody after successfully participating in such a program, at the Bureau's discretion, by no more than 60 days per year of participation.
Prohibits the combined credit awarded for successful completion of such a program and a program of residential substance abuse treatment from exceeding 15% of the prisoner's total sentence.
Directs the Attorney General to develop, and the Bureau to use, a methodology and procedures to assess the recidivism risk factors of all prisoners committed to the Bureau's custody for a term of imprisonment other than life imprisonment and to identify programming to reduce the risk factors. Requires United States Probation and Pretrial Services (USPPS) to report annually on rates of recidivism among individuals who have been released from federal prison and who are under USPPS supervision.
Requires:

(1) the Administrative Office of the Courts to evaluate best practices used for the reentry into society of individuals released from the custody of the Bureau,

(2) the Attorney General to select an appropriate number of federal judicial districts to conduct federal reentry demonstration projects using such best practices,

(3) such Office to evaluate the results from each district selected, and

(4) the Attorney General to report on the impact of reentry of prisoners on communities in which a disproportionate number of individuals reside upon release from incarceration.

Requires a probation officer's pre-sentence report to include:

(1) information about the defendant's history of substance abuse and addiction; and

(2) a detailed plan to reduce the likelihood the defendant will abuse drugs or alcohol, to reduce the likelihood of recidivism by addressing the defendant's specific risk factors, and to assist the defendant preparing for reentry into the community.

Requires the Bureau to ensure that each eligible prisoner has an opportunity to commence participation in a substance abuse treatment program by the date necessary to ensure that the prisoner completes such treatment not later than one year before the prisoner would otherwise be released from custody prior to any reduction in sentence for such participation.
Directs USPPS to establish a five-year recidivism reduction and recovery enhancement pilot program in selected federal judicial districts.

History[edit]

It was originally read twice and referred to The Senate Committee on the Judiciary who had it on its Executive Business agenda for February 13, 2014. It was held over by the Chairman. New legislation, authored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan vote of 15-2. This 50+ page amendment, known as ALB14155, contains elements of both the Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013 and S. 1783, the Federal Prison Reform Act of 2013, introduced by Senator Cornyn, along with Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

During March and April 2014, further work on several sections of the text was done. The United States Sentencing Commission scheduled a public hearing and vote for April 10, 2014 to consider a reduction in the base level offense of certain drug convictions. The decision was unanimous by the Commission in favor of the reductions which impacts potentially 70% of the drug offense prison population. The chair of the Commission issued a statement on the same day saying that "This modest reduction in drug penalties is an important step toward reducing the problem of prison overcrowding at the federal level in a proportionate and fair manner," said Judge Patti B. Saris, chair of the Commission. "Reducing the federal prison population has become urgent, with that population almost three times where it was in 1991."

References[edit]

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Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013

History[edit]

References[edit]

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