Maine Statistical Analysis Center (SAC)
In 1972, the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began providing limited funds to states to operate state statistical analysis centers. The purpose of each state SAC is to enhance the capacity to address criminal justice issues through applied research and data to estimate the implications and impacts of legislative and policy changes. The quantitative focus of the SAC program reflects the current government emphasis on quantifiable data for criminal justice system improvement.
In 1999, pursuant to an Executive Order issued by Maine’s Governor, the Maine Department of Corrections transferred the SAC to the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service. SAC activities are guided by an advisory group comprised of policy-level representatives of the Maine Department of Public Safety, Maine Department of Corrections, Maine Administrative Office of the Courts, and Maine Criminal Justice Commission.
SAC themes of focus change every year. In 2008-2009, the Maine SAC has submitted a proposal to work on developing a new Maine Crime & Justice Data Book.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, Mark Rubin, George Shaler
Dates: 1999 - present
Maine SAC-CHRIS Capacity Building Project
Awarded by the Justice Research Statistics Association (JRSA), the project is strengthening the Maine Statistical Analysis Center’s capacity to analyze data maintained by the Maine Department of Public Safety (MDPS) in the Criminal History Records Information System (CHRIS). A key project goal is to develop a profile of drug offenses occurring in Maine. The Maine SAC is collaborating with MDPS, JRSA and other state grantees, and will contribute to a report to be released under the auspices of JRSA and the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, George Shaler
Dates: 2007 - 2008
State Sentencing & Correctional Practice Analyses
MJPC will support the preparatory work of the newly-established Corrections Alternatives Advisory Committee (CAAC) by providing information and policy analyses to project funder Maine Department of Corrections and relevant policy makers. MJPC will draft a white paper on statewide adult recidivism rates of offenders leaving prison in 2004 to provide the first outcome information on prisoners to stakeholders in Maine, and will provide research support and technical assistance to a York County pilot project that incorporates risk assessment to address the practice of probation revocation.
Project Director: Mark Rubin
Date: 2008
Domestic Violence Court Pilot Project
MJPC tracked the recidivism of probationers convicted of domestic violence crimes in a domestic violence courts-corrections pilot project. This research, funded by the Maine Judicial Branch, compares the Ontario Domestic Risk Assessment (ODARA) to the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) to determine which risk assessment tool more accurately predicts domestic violence recidivism of a specialized caseload of domestic violence offenders in Maine.
Project Director: Mark Rubin
Dates: 2007-2008
Cumberland County Jail Data Project
In 2006, Cumberland County hired MJPC to help provide information for county planning purposes. MJPC analyzed data extracts from Cumberland County jail’s information system to produce briefs entitled Characteristics of Repeat Offenders at the Cumberland County Jail in 2005 and Cumberland County Jail 2005 Pre-Arraignments.
Project Director: George Shaler
Dates: 2006 - 2007
Adult Corrections Case Management
MJPC is assisting the Maine Department of Corrections, Adult Division in the design and delivery of a comprehensive case plan training for community corrections officers and facility based case managers. As a result of new policies, state corrections staff are creating case plans for high risk adult offenders. Case plans are based on criminogenic risk assessment tools, and the case planning process is supported by promising practices. The training plan is being delivered in partnership with a policy development group, regional management and ongoing program development committees within MDOC, and is designed to support MDOC in building capacity to achieve standards of NIC and ACA accreditation.
Project Director: Erica King
Dates: 2006 - present
Mental Health and Criminal Justice
A look at relevant facts and studies nationally and from Maine reveals that addressing the needs of people with mental illness involved in the criminal justice system is challenging not only here in Maine, but also throughout the entire country. Pursuant to a study commission directive, the Maine Departments of Corrections (DOC) and Health and Human Services (DHHS) have issued a Joint Plan of Action to address this issue in Maine. The MJPC will assist by providing policy analysis and technical assistance to the evaluation of the initiative.
Project Director: Mark Rubin
Dates: 2006 - Present
Correctional Programming Assessment Inventory (CPAI)
MJPC employs the CPAI instrument methodology to evaluate adult correctional programs on behalf of the Maine Department of Corrections. Programs are evaluated for adherence to evidence-based principles of effective correctional intervention. The evaluation is conducted using various methods, including onsite observation, interviews, and document reviews. This year, programs serving female offenders and programs focused on the rehabilitation of sex offenders are being studied.
Project Director: Erica King
Dates: 2006 – present
VOANNE Performance Measurement & Improvement Project
In 2006 – 2007, MJPC provided training and technical assistance services to Volunteers of America, Northern New England to help improve performance measurement and evaluation capacity of the organization. Multiple VOANNE programs developed their own logic model frameworks during the course of the initial project. Next steps include determining data collection strategies, and collecting and analyzing performance data.
Project Director: George Shaler
Dates: 2006 - present
Maine Crime Victimization Survey
Until recently, Maine was not able to describe its state level crime victimization rates. With support from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics and a state advisory group, MJPC initiated the first state crime victimization survey and in March, 2007 released the Maine Crime Victimization Report, Informing Public Policy for Safer Communities. An advisory group representing state and federal governmental agencies, non-profit groups, coalitions and commissions supported and guided development of the survey and production of the report. Findings on Mainers’ perceptions of safety and actual victimization rates are helping to provide information about public safety issues of critical importance to Maine. Specifically, the findings have been used to inform deliberations on various bills before the state legislature, in outreach materials about sexual assault and domestic violence, and in discussions about the scope and prevalence of certain types of victimization – e.g. stalking, identity theft – in Maine.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, Mark Rubin, Allan Leighton
Dates: 2005 – 2007
Adult Offender Recidivism Research
This National Institute of Corrections (NIC) pilot program measures the recidivism rates of adult offenders on probation and post-supervision. Using Maine's new Corrections Information System (CORIS) the MJPC will retrieve information on Maine’s probation population and link arrests, criminal history records from the Maine Department of Public Safety (MDPS) to other important variables such as risk assessment scores, age and sentence length. This project will support Maine’s Department of Correction's (MDOC) strategic planning process and decision-making by enabling staff to monitor recidivist behavior and help identify effective management strategies. This outcome-based approach to performance government will eventually enable MDOC to compare program quality to individual outcomes. The NIC pilot will also increase MDOC's capacity to identify systemic, state-wide offender trends and create a more robust data reporting system on offenders.
Project Director: Mark Rubin
Dates: 2005 - Present
New Horizons Academy
The release of prisoners in Maine presents challenges to both prisoners and their communities. Many prisoners face barriers such as low education levels, lack of work experience, gaps in employment due to incarceration and other factors, such as the stigma of former incarceration. A new initiative, the 12-week New Horizons Academy training program emphasizes cognitive assessment, career planning and learning and practicing on-the-job coping skills to prepare prisoners to get and keep employment after their release. The Muskie School of Public Service provided technical assistance to the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the training project.
Project Director: Moire Kenny
Date: 2005
Reoccurring Criminal Behavior Analysis in the Maine State Prison System
Since 2000, Maine’s prison population has increased by 20 percent. Bed shortages, increased safety risks, and rising costs have been the result. The Legislature established a broad-based study commission to examine ways to reduce the overall prison population while preserving community safety. The Commission was required to submit its recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over sentencing policies during the Second Regular Session of the 121st Legislature. The MJPC assisted the Commission by examining the state prison population to determine the scope and extent of prior criminal behavior exhibited by a sample of Maine state prisoners.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, George Shaler, Allan Leighton
Date: 2003
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and providing those programs with additional tools necessary to be successful. The Office of the U.S. Attorney, District of Maine, is facilitating a Task Force compromised of federal, state, and local law enforcement and community officials to design a gun crime reduction strategy that best fits the unique gun crime problem in Maine. PSN has provided funds for outreach/publicity and research partners in each District. The Muskie School is providing research and policy analysis support to the initiative as the research partner.
Project Director: Mark Rubin
Dates: 2003 - 2005
Weed and Seed
Violent crime and drug-related problems in communities fueled the national Weed and Seed effort to fund local partnerships between law enforcement and community-based organizations. These collaborations serve to ‘weed’ out crime and ‘seed’ communities with crime prevention, outreach and reduction strategies designed to fit a community context. The Muskie School helped the Lincoln County Weed and Seed site to build its capacity for evaluation of its five-year program by (1) evaluating a comprehensive, enhanced neighborhood policing program to measure how well law enforcement professionals apply and integrate the model into their work and (2) developing tools for assessment of progress across key program indicators identified by the community and law enforcement partnership. The final report, entitled Lincoln County Weed & Seed: An Implementation Evaluation of a Rural Crime Prevention Project, was released in June, 2004.
Project Director: George Shaler
Dates: 2003 - 2004
National Incident-based Reporting System (NIBRS) Capacity Building Project
Funded by the Maine Department of Public Safety, MJPC provided technical assistance during the development and maintenance of a centralized repository for the Maine Incident-Based Reporting System. MJPC conducted a study to document the implementation process, including the training and technical assistance processes in law enforcement agencies. Project deliverables included a training manual and briefing paper entitled NIBRS Dissemination in Maine: Findings from 3 Pilot Sites.
Project Directors: Larry Ullian, Ruth Thomas
Dates: 2002 - 2003
Sex Offense Research
Funded by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 2002-2003 the Maine Statistical Analysis Center studied the issue of sex offenses in Maine and produced two reports for dissemination to the criminal justice community: 1) The Arrest, Sentencing and Prosecution of Sex Offenders in Maine: Suggestions for Improving the System, and 2) Attrition of Sex Offender Cases in Maine’s Criminal Justice System: The Role of the Victim and the Criminal Justice Community.
Project Directors: Larry Ullian, Carmen Dorsey, George Shaler
Dates: 2002 - 2003
Victim Assistance Academy for Maine and New Hampshire
The purpose of the Academy is to offer a comprehensive academically based foundation level training academy to help build the capacity of victim assistance providers, victim advocates, criminal justice personnel and other professionals who work with victims. Academy participants attend a week-long training with presentations and exercises in a number of content areas, including trauma, child victimization, sexual assault, domestic violence and elder abuse. Each participant receives a written instructional manual for reference.
Project Director: Jolene Twombly-Wiser
Dates: 2002 - Present
10th National Workshop on Adult and Juvenile Female Offenders: Charting a Course, Lighting the Way (2003)
Sponsored by the Maine Department of Corrections and the Association of Programs for Female Offenders, the conference, held in Portland, Maine, provided a national professional development forum for 550 researchers and practitioners working with adult and juvenile female offenders to discuss best practice and the latest research in the field. MJPC contributed facilitation, coordination and research/technical assistance expertise to the development of the conference.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, Caroline MacDonald, Polly Campbell
Dates: 2001 - 2003
Maine Crime & Justice Data Books and Brief Series
MJPC’s Maine Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) plays a key role in the state by analyzing crime and justice system trends and information for the Maine legislature, governmental agencies, non-profits, students and other stakeholders interested in learning about and using Maine crime data. The SAC produces a data book every 2-3 years for this purpose. In alternating years, the SAC produces a series of research and policy briefs providing information about Maine’s police, courts and corrections data trends and implications for policy and practice. In 2009, the SAC will release a new data book with the latest updates.
Project Directors: Carmen Dorsey, Mark Rubin, George Shaler
Dates: 1999 - present
