Vera Institute of Justice

Technical Notes 

Figure 1 – The jail population remains near historically low levels
Sources:  Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO), Daily Population Snapshots, January 2016 – June 2017.

Figure 2 – Most people in the New Orleans jail have not been tried or convicted
Source: OPSO, Daily Population Snapshot, May 2, 2017.

“N” refers to the number of people in the dataset used for this figure.

In the “pre-disposition” populations, people were defined by their most serious open charge(s): felony, state misdemeanor, etc. Alleged probation and parole violators might also have open felony charges or other open holds. A hold is any open item aside from the primary reason for detention that might contribute to a person’s detention time. Someone in the felony pretrial population might have additional less serious charges (determined by charge severity where possible: state felony, state misdemeanor, municipal, and traffic).

The sentenced population in the New Orleans jail is designated “DOC” if any charge was given a sentence to the Department of Corrections. A person is only in the New Orleans jail category if they are serving a parish jail sentence and are not serving a DOC sentence.

Figure 3 – People who pose little risk are held in the New Orleans jail
Sources: OPSO, Daily Population Snapshot, May 2, 2017; New Orleans Pretrial Services, Risk Scores of Pretrial Felony Defendants, 2017.

New Orleans Pretrial Services administers a risk assessment to people who are booked into jail for a felony charge. When possible, staff also conduct in-person interviews to collect information about residence and employment and verify the information provided.

As of May 2, 2017, 251 of the 1,586 people detained in the jail had been assessed. People with no risk assessment score based on charge type, people with probation and parole detainers, and people who were arrested prior to the risk assessment tool being implemented are not included in this analysis. Roughly 6 percent of eligible felony defendants are not assessed for risk, either because they were processed through booking too quickly or because too many defendants needed to be processed at once. For people arrested on very serious charges (first- and second-degree murder, aggravated rape, and armed robbery with a firearm), a score is not assigned.

The current risk assessment tool assigns a risk score that corresponds with a risk category. It is based on a person’s criminal record, seriousness of the current charge, the presence of an existing open case, prior failures to appear, residential stability, and employment. People who score between 1 and 4 are considered to be low-risk; between 5 and 7 are low-moderate risk; between 8 and 11 are moderate-risk; and 12 or above are high-risk. 

Figure 4 – Most pretrial defendants released to the community return to court
Sources: Criminal District Court, Disposition Data, April - June 2017; OPSO, Release data, March-June 2017; New Orleans Pretrial Services, Risk Scores of Pretrial Felony Defendants, 2017.

The chart relies on all cases that were resolved within the second quarter of 2017. Using closed cases to examine success rates for appearance in court allows Vera to capture complete information about people who fail to appear in court after release from jail. This analysis includes people who completed the risk assessment when they were booked into jail on a felony charge and whose cases were resolved (accepted, refused, or referred to municipal court) during each quarter of 2016 and 2017.

“Success rate” is the percentage of people who were released pretrial and subsequently returned to court for all pretrial court dates. “Failure to appear with no voluntary return” describes people who did not return to court of their own volition and were re-arrested for failure to appear.  “Failure to appear with voluntary return” describes people who did not appear in court at an appointed date but returned of their own volition at a subsequent court date. “Failure to appear, charges dropped” refers to people who did not return to court, but for whom the failure to appear is rendered moot because their charges were dropped.

Figure 5 – Most people who are released pretrial aren’t arrested on new charges
Sources: Criminal District Court, Disposition Data, March-June 2017; OPSO, Release data, March-June 2017; New Orleans Pretrial Services, Risk Scores of Pretrial Felony Defendants, 2017.

“Success rate” is the percentage of people who were not arrested on new charges of those released to the community during the pretrial period. We count the most serious charge in cases where people were arrested on multiple new charges after pretrial release. Cases in the “CDC” category include people charged with new felonies and state misdemeanors, as well as those with charges in CDC and/or municipal and traffic courts. Those in the “municipal” and “traffic” categories were charged with new misdemeanors and traffic violations, respectively.

Figure 6 – Many jail stays are not strictly necessary
Source: OPSO, Release data, April–June 2017.

 A “bed day” refers to each day a person spends in the New Orleans jail; to determine the number of bed days for a group of people with similar release outcomes, the total number of days each member of the group spent in the New Orleans jail is added together. 

Category definitions:

• Resolved probation or parole violations: People who were released after a detainer on an alleged probation violation was lifted, either because the violation was dismissed or a short sentence was served to satisfy the violation. 
  
• Sentenced to time served: People who remained in detention during the entire pretrial period and were released upon being sentenced to probation. 
  
• Sentenced to probation: People who remained in detention during the entire pretrial period and were released upon being sentenced to probation. 
  
• Case refused or not guilty: People who were released at the time of screening because their cases were refused or dismissed; and people who were released at the time of case adjudication with the disposition of not guilty. 
  
• Financial bond release: People who paid some type of financial bond (cash, surety bond, or property bond) to secure their pretrial release. 
  
• Non-financial bond release: People who were released on their own recognizance ('ROR') without having to pay as a condition of their release. Judges have discretion to impose other conditions on release, such as pretrial supervision or enrollment in substance abuse treatment. 
  
• No-bond release: People who were released by the courts after their arrest was deemed to have "no probable cause." This category also includes people with minor municipal charges who were released without paying a bond. Some of the municipal releases might be ROR releases but the available data does not provide this detail. 

Figure 7 – Arrests do not affect all communities equally
Sources: OPSO, Arrest Data, April – June 2017; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014, 2015.

The arrest rate figure provides the relative rate of arrests by race and gender (per 1,000 New Orleans residents, aged 15 - 84).

Figure 8 – Black men are held in jail longer
Sources: OPSO, Release data, April – June 2017.

This figure represents a breakdown of all people released during the first quarter of 2017, by race, sex, and length of stay.

Figure 9 – Black men are over-represented in our jail
Sources:  OPSO, Daily Population Snapshot, May 2, 2017; U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin for the United States, States, and Counties: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014, 2015.

End Notes

1. For 2005 jail population numbers, see William J. Sabol and Todd D. Minton, “Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007,” Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin (Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, 2008), https://perma.cc/U7WV-6BEL. For residency population data, see U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009, 2010.
   
2. Ram Subramanian, Ruth Delaney, and Stephen Roberts, et al., Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2015), https://perma.cc/QE4P-G2CY.
   
3. Cynthia Mamalian, State of the Science of Pretrial Risk Assessment (Gaithersburg, MD: Pretrial Justice Institute, 2011), https://perma.cc/TS9J-5PV4.
   
4. Rebekah Allen, “Gov. Edwards signs criminal justice overhaul into law, in what some laud as historic achievement,” The Advocate, June 15, 2017. http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/legislature/article_168c6d6e-5089-11e7-a0d6-7f67135f59a4.html
   
   
5. Louisiana law mandates that an indictment or information shall be filed within 45 days of the arrest for misdemeanors, and 60 days of the arrest if the defendant is being held in custody.
   
6. United States v. Salerno, 794 F.2d 64, 74 (2d Cir. 1986), rev'd, 107 S. Ct. 2095 (1987).
   
7. Christopher T. Lowenkamp, Marie VanNostrand, and Alexander Holsinger, The Hidden Costs of Pretrial Detention (Houston: The Laura and John Arnold Foundation, 2013).