Vera Institute of Justice

Overview

This 1973 evaluation of Vera's Bronx Sentencing Project compared the disposition and recidivism rates of an experimental group of defendants referred for supervision to Argus Community with a control group. The Argus referral resulted in a marked, although not statistically significant reduction of prison sentences without a concurrent increase in recidivism. It observes that if the Bronx Sentencing-Argus referral system were restricted to defendants with good rehabilitative prospects, Argus might not only reduce prison dispositions but also reduce recidivism. To adequately test this prediction, a repetition of the experiment with certain modifications is recommended.