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Community Partnerships Initiative

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results
News

Pretrial risk assessment tools found to be subjective and biased

May 4, 2023 Read the full brief
In their attempts to reform the cash bail system, jurisdictions across the country are turning to automated pretrial risk assessment tools that ‘predict’ if a defendant will be arrested for a new crime while waiting for trial or will fail to appear...
News

STPP gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates

Mar 22, 2023
The Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program has received a $250,000 gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates across campus. The gift comes from Phil (LSA ’87) and Julie (LSA ’88) Hollyer, parents of Keegan (Ford BA...
Publication

Automated License Plate Readers widely used, subject to abuse

Feb 22, 2023
Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are being used by a growing number of public and private entities to track drivers’ movements and location. The use of the technology is almost entirely unregulated and can be subject to abuse, so some...
Policy Brief

People with Disabilities Must Be Included in Climate Action Planning

September 11, 2023
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Trevor Odelberg, Mara Pusic
The risks to humans from climate change are wide-reaching, but felt unequally among members of society, including People with Disabilities (PWD). Despite this, PWD are often “invisible” to decision-makers and planners.  Current climate action plans...
Policy Brief

The Risks of Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools: Policy Considerations for Michigan

May 2, 2023
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Ember McCoy, School for Environment and Sustainability Ph.D. ‘25
In the United States, many jurisdictions are turning to pretrial risk assessment tools as an alternative to cash bail. More than 60 risk assessment tools are in use throughout the country today, at both the federal and state level and in multiple...

The Risks of Pretrial Risk Assessment Tools: Policy Considerations for Michigan

May 2023 - May 2023
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Ember McCoy, School for Environment and Sustainability Ph.D. ‘25
In the United States, many jurisdictions are turning to pretrial risk assessment tools as an alternative to cash bail. More than 60 risk assessment tools are in use throughout the country today, at both the federal and state level and in multiple stages of a person’s process through the carceral system. In what follows, we analyze risk assessment tools for their claims of providing objective, empirical evidence to inform decisions around pretrial release and detention. We find serious concerns with their ability to generate accurate, valid, reliable, and unbiased outcomes and to address root...