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Racial Fairness
Workforce - Enhance Minority Recruitment
Corrections has a full time Diversity Coordinator who directs our minority recruiting program. Corrections is emphasizing recruiting at ethnic events and festivals to make contact with the minority community. Meetings have taken place with the directors of the Governor's Office of Ethnic Affairs, the NAACP, and leaders of the Latino community to solicit suggestions and support for our recruitment efforts.
Workforce - Hiring Practices
During the last year, Corrections Human Resources Bureau reviewed the correctional officer testing and hiring process and its impact on minority applicants. Improvements have been made to simplify the process. A problem with higher rejection of minority than white applicants has been identified. A taskforce will be formed to review the process and see what can be done to improve the approval rate.
Training - PSI Writers Training on Guidelines
All PSI writers receive initial training on the sentencing guidelines and documentation required for deviation from the guidelines. Documentation is required whenever there is a deviation. All recommendations are reviewed by a supervisor and questions arising from deviations raised. Corrections will work with the Sentencing Commission to develop yearly guideline training.
Training - UDC Staff on Impact of Racial and Ethnic Bias
Pre-Service Academy provides 8 hours: Introduction to Cultural Competency, Cross-Cultural Communication Skills, Cultural Differences and Historical Perspectives, Prejudice Reduction, Labels, Stereotypes. This training uses the Utah Multi-Cultural Competency Curriculum for Pre-Service Training adopted by POST. This curriculum is also being used for DIO and UCI staff in their training meetings and will include AP&P soon.
Training - UDC Staff on Impact of Racial and Ethnic Bias
Cultural Diversity is offered every other year in In-Service Training. New civilian staff receive two hours of cultural diversity training and annual in-service which may include diversity issues. Other training is offered through the 1st Line Supervisors and Field Training Officer Programs.
Community Resources - Public School Outreach
Corrections is a new member of the Cultural Competency Consortium composed of state agencies and private companies. DIO has a public awareness program in which schools and community groups are invited to Draper for an educational program. An inmate panel of white and minority offenders presents the program.
Administration - No Race/ Ethnicity Data in PSI Header
The header does not give information on the race or ethnicity of the defendant. Information on the need for an interpreter and what language is needed is included at the front of the PSI. The Background and Living Situation section includes information on where the defendant was born or grew up which might tell something about race or ethnicity. Data on race and ethnicity are collected and maintained in the Otrack data base.
Administration - Review of PSI Recommendations
All PSI recommendations are reviewed by a supervisor-upward, downward, or no departure. Current electronic records do allow upward departures to be identified. This information can be used to locate files to check for supervisor approval.
Administration - PSI Writers
Our current PSI writers are a mix of staff and contractors. We have 30 Caucasian men, 11 Caucasian women, 1 Hispanic man, and 1 Native American woman. Of the contract writers, 15 have never worked for Corrections and so may not have received our cultural competency training. Many of these individuals worked for other criminal justice agencies and received training through them.
Administration - Court-ordered Psychological Evaluations
All evaluations are made by practitioners who carry the appropriate license from the state. Since most evaluations are performed by a contracted provider, cultural competency training could be required. Measuring their basic understanding of each client's background would be difficult.
Data - Race and Ethnicity of Victims
Corrections does not collect data on the race or ethnicity of victims. We recommend that this be tracked through BCI and the arrest records.
Data - Staff Exit Interviews
We are currently reworking our exit interview process and will include questions on racial and ethnic fairness. We are also investigating the possibility of conducting annual or biannual questionnaires of staff which would include questions on racial or ethnic bias encountered in the workplace.
Data - Racial and Ethnic Statistics
Corrections offender tracking data base, Otrack, includes data on the race and ethnicity of offenders. This allows us to give racial and ethnic profiles on: Population demographics, Offense categories, PSI recommendations, Sentencing recommendations, Length of stay compared to guidelines, Probation and parole violation rates, Rates of successful termination.
Research - What Works for Offenders
Corrections continues to be involved in research and evaluation of programs. We are currently developing a comprehensive data base on programming and program participation which will improve our ability to look at outcomes. Our new programming initiatives include greater integration of families and community organizations with emphasis on faith-based groups.