IACFP Board meeting, held virtually on 28 January 2021. L to R: Emma Black Regan, Cherie Townsend, Jim DeGroot, Diane Williams, Melvin Hinton, Frank Porporino, Dick Althouse, Gabriel Ong, Javel Jackson, Maureen Alley, Jeff Pfeifer, Jeff Metzner, Sarah Shelton, Matt Epperson, and Silvia Martinez. We've compiled top highlights from IACFP events, international research, and world news for our March/April IACFP International News summary. Our topics include IACFP Board and leadership updates, notable research relevant to practitioners, and international topics of interest. 1. INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR CORRECTIONAL AND FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY UPDATES The IACFP Board met on … [Read more...]

After decades of not just increasing populations in prisons and jails in the United States but unconscionable mass incarceration, several different efforts began to reduce these numbers.  Some efforts looked at policy; some at decision-making, and some looked at the bottom line, (i.e., the costs to continue mass incarceration). Nearly ten years ago the concept of “Smart Decarceration” was introduced. This article provides a summary of new research presented in Criminal Justice and Behavior Special Issue, Volume 48, Number 1, January 2021. What is Smart Decarceration? Decarceration is a descriptive term that is sometimes used to generically describe population reduction in secure … [Read more...]

We've compiled top highlights from news stories, research, and resources across the world in this month's IACFP International News summary. Our topics for the beginning of 2021 include IACFP leadership updates, student research awards, updates from the International Mental Health Leadership Network, new research, and COVID resources for practitioners. 1. IACFP Effective 1 January 2021, Jeffrey Pfeifer became the IACFP President and Frank Porporino moved to Past-President. The other members of the board’s executive committee are newly elected President-Elect, Sarah Shelton, Treasurer, Diane Williams, and Secretary, Richard Althouse. Jeffrey Metzner and Melvin Hinton were appointed to … [Read more...]

Several months ago, Dr. Jeffrey L. Metzner was interviewed and asked about his career, advice to others in the early to mid-stage of career development, and recommendations for contributing to corrections’ system reform. He was gracious in his time and humble in describing the experiences that led to his current status of “expert” in the field. He was quick to point out the opportunities that he had to learn from others and how that may have shaped the trajectory of his career. Just the Basics Jeffrey L. Metzner, M.D., was appointed to the IACFP Board in 2018 and was recently reappointed to serve a second term. He received his M.D. from the University of Maryland Medical School and … [Read more...]

In this article, we highlight international research and resources for practitioners in the field that feature criminal justice reform, including items focused on criminal justice and behavior, COVID, and race and racism. Criminal Justice and Behavior Robert Morgan, Editor of Criminal Justice and Behavior, introduced “At the Forefront” to provide readers of the journal with a concise, focused, expert review of emerging areas of criminal justice psychology. This month the focus is on systemic racial and ethnic disparities and whether risk assessments exacerbate them. The article, “Racist Algorithms or Systemic Problems? Risk Assessments and Racial Disparities,” was first published … [Read more...]