Description
This course is an introduction to how corrections departments measure the people in their custody. An accurate understanding of the number of people under a DOC’s jurisdiction and in their custody is essential for effective operations, resource allocation, population projections, and informed decisions. Analysts are often asked questions related to these issues. This course will provide the guidance necessary to produce high-quality analysis of corrections populations to inform DOC leadership and staff, as well as policymakers and other stakeholders.
Through this course, you will gain a thorough overview of measuring and reporting activity among corrections populations. Specifically, you will learn about different measures of corrections population activity, including population counts, admissions, releases, and length of stay. You will also learn the basic steps to calculate these measures, including examples of how to do these calculations in R, and how these measures are commonly used for operations and decision-making.
By the end of this course, you will have gained an understanding of the different measures of population activity in corrections, the most appropriate uses for each measure, and how to plan your analysis of these measures to meet your agency’s data needs. This includes deciding on the most appropriate measure to report and choosing an appropriate cohort for analysis.
Most, if not all, DOCs have legislative requirements for reporting population metrics, and these may include specific guidelines for how these metrics should be calculated. The goal of this course is to help you understand what various population measures represent and how decisions about the calculation of these measures can impact the results. By taking this course, you will be able to apply this understanding to your work to enhance operational reporting at your agency.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for corrections analysts or anyone interested in operational reporting for facilities or programs. There are no prerequisites for this course. This course is designed to be an introduction to the foundational elements of operational reporting, so a basic understanding of corrections activity is beneficial but not required. Examples will be used to illustrate the calculation logic for each measure, and the concepts covered in this lesson will be described in general terms that can be applied to any programming language or software.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, learners should be able to do the following:
- Understand the importance of accurately tracking corrections populations and activities.
- Recognize different measures of population activity and how they are commonly used in operations and reporting.
- Calculate each measure.
- Understand how selecting a cohort can influence your results.
- Determine the most appropriate measure(s) for reporting to meet your agency’s needs.
Structure
This course is organized into lessons that are meant to be completed in sequential order. Each lesson includes an explanation of the topic, relevant examples, and best practices that will be presented through a combination of written materials and videos. Where relevant, there will also be an exercise associated with the lesson to reinforce concepts covered in the video and written texts. This exercise will include a real-world example that allows you to apply the lesson concepts to further your understanding of population measures in context. Additionally, each lesson will include a learning check to ensure you understand key concepts from the lesson before moving on to the next one.
| Lesson |
Lesson Objectives |
| 1: Introduction to Population Measures |
- Learn about the different measures of populations.
- Understand the importance of accurately tracking corrections populations.
- Recognize the most appropriate uses for each population metric.
|
| 2: Calculating Rearrest Rates |
- Identify different methods for counting populations, such as average daily population and population snapshots.
- Recognize when to use one method over another.
- Learn how to calculate population counts.
|
| 3: Number of People Served |
- Understand the definition of a “served” population.
- Learn how to calculate the number of people served in a facility or program.
- Understand how this differs from a population count and when to use one over the other.
|
| 4: Admissions and Releases |
- Understand what information is conveyed in counts of admissions and releases.
- Learn how to calculate each measure.
- Understand how selecting a cohort can influence these measures.
|
| 5: Length of Stay |
- Learn how to calculate length of stay in a facility or program.
- Determine the most appropriate unit of measurement for reporting length of stay to meet your agency’s needs.
- Recognize how analysis results can be impacted by cohort selection.
|
Estimated Time to Complete
4 hours
