星空无限传媒

Through faculty collaboration, student effort, and by using big data analysis to evaluate the risk prisoners pose to society and the needs they would have upon release鈥攎erging expertise in sociology and law鈥擫SU has helped lower the Louisiana prison population by almost one-fourth in three years, saving the state more than $150 million annually.

鈥淲hen I first started working for the Louisiana Department of Corrections, we had nothing to help us do triage and objectively evaluate individual prisoners,鈥� Assistant Secretary Rhett Covington, who spent 15 years as a parole officer, said. 鈥淣othing but our experience and the biases that came along with that. We were flying by the seat of our pants with the limited resources we had, and there was no way to do true case management; each parolee got the kitchen sink.鈥�

鈥淭he TIGER score now helps our field officers determine, 鈥榃ho do I want to spend my time with, and who do I spot-check periodically,鈥欌�� Covington continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to prioritize our resources and reinvest state funds where we get the biggest bang for our buck.鈥�

The TIGER toolset was developed by LSU sociology professor Ed Shihadeh and attorney Keith Nordyke, who also is LSU Law adjunct faculty. Seeing how Louisiana was the incarceration capital of not just the nation, but the world鈥攚hile having one of the highest crime rates鈥攊t became clear to Shihadeh and Nordyke that Louisiana could invest its money more wisely. Together with students, they helped turn a $1.75 million federal research grant into more than $150 million in annual savings for the state, in the context of Louisiana鈥檚 commitment to criminal justice reform. And those savings pertain to decreased costs of mass incarceration alone; not having to spend an average of $17,742 per prisoner per year for the 9,000 people who are not incarcerated today compared to in 2017, the year before TIGER was implemented. Between 2017 and today, the Louisiana prison population has shrunk by almost one-fourth, from more than 35,000 to less than 27,000. And there are other gains for the state as well鈥攆ormer prisoners become workers and taxpayers, contributing to state revenue, along with less crime and fewer victims. The overall recidivism rate (the number of parolees who return to prison within five years) has gone down from 47% to 42%鈥攁nd likely lower still, since TIGER hasn鈥檛 been used for the full five-year period for which the state has the most recent data.

鈥淭he TIGER score now helps our field officers determine, 鈥榃ho do I want to spend my time with, and who do I spot-check periodically.鈥� We鈥檙e able to prioritize our resources and reinvest state funds where we get the biggest bang for our buck.

Assistant Secretary Rhett Covington, Louisiana Department of Corrections

Before TIGER, the state used a rudimentary tool called LARNA (Louisiana Risk Needs Assessment) to help the parole board make decisions about which prisoners to release. It was based on 13 questions and had an accuracy rate of 62%.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 about a coin flip,鈥� Shihadeh said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not actionable data. You can鈥檛 tell me every person has about a 50/50 chance of committing another crime鈥擨 can鈥檛 work with that. Especially when the stakes are this high... So, the result of that system was that almost no one got out, including the people who pose little-to-no risk to society.鈥�

During his research presentation at a January 2021 LSU Science Caf茅 event, Shihadeh showed a graph comparison between LARNA and TIGER. While the outcome of LARNA creates an almost perfect Bell curve (which Shihadeh calls 鈥渢he maybe curve鈥�) with the vast majority of prisoners being evaluated as medium-risk, TIGER results in something that looks more like a ski slope, with most prisoners on the low-risk side of the spectrum. The accuracy rate of TIGER is at least 80%鈥攏ot perfect, but based on a much wider set of parameters and 15 years鈥� worth of data on what actually happened to more than 100,000 people released from prison in Louisiana; real outcomes. The tool is also continuously validated and further fine-tuned, including by a former student of Shihadeh鈥檚 who now works with the Louisiana Department of Corrections and as a research associate in the LSU Social Research and Evaluation Center, Tim Reling.

鈥淲e鈥檙e currently working on developing a series of more gender-responsive risk and needs algorithms,鈥� Reling said. 鈥淭hese will be able to help predict recidivism for drug, property, and violent offenses specifically among men and women, which are not the same. Each algorithm is subjected to ten-fold cross-validated logistic regression procedures to ensure the internal validity and overall stability of the models.鈥�

In 2014, Nordyke also partnered with Robert Lancaster, assistant dean of experiential education 星空无限传媒 Law, to create the LSU , where students now use the TIGER score as a means of advocacy for prisoners (often juvenile and first-time offenders) who might deserve a second chance. One such person is Andrew Hundley, who was sentenced to life without parole for second-degree murder at the age of 15 in 1997. Originally from Eunice, Louisiana, Hundley was the first juvenile lifer to be released on parole in 2016, after 19 years in prison, finishing as a trustee on the Angola Prison cattle crew. This happened through the direct advocacy efforts of Nordyke combined with a promising (low-risk, low-needs) TIGER score, which was calculated specifically for Hundley鈥檚 parole hearing before being implemented statewide. During his incarceration, Hundley had first gotten his GED and then took LSU correspondence courses in political science and history, 鈥渏ust courses I enjoyed taking,鈥� as well as classes offered through Louisiana Technical College.

鈥淭hose educational opportunities kept me going,鈥� Hundley said. 鈥淭hey gave me hope and something to work toward; a way to better myself.鈥�

After his release, Hundley enrolled 星空无限传媒 as a fulltime student, graduating in record time just two years later with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology. Today, he鈥檚 the executive director of , an advocacy, support, and peer mentorship organization staffed entirely by former lifers who offer housing and various support services for recent parolees who might have exited society when Back to the Future was the number-one movie at the box office, around 1985鈥攂efore computers and email addresses and cell phones, and usually before they ever had the chance to set foot in a restaurant, or learn how to drive.

鈥淚 try to be careful about how I use the tagline, 鈥榝rom tax burdens to tax payers,鈥� but our organization has seen bipartisan support based on economics alone ... One thing we鈥檝e all been able to agree on is; let鈥檚 put these people to work.鈥�

Andrew Hundley, former juvenile lifer, recent LSU graduate, and executive director of Louisiana Parole Project

鈥淚 try to be careful about how I use the tagline, 鈥榝rom tax burdens to tax payers,鈥� but our organization has seen bipartisan support based on economics alone,鈥� Hundley said. 鈥淓ven conservative business people, who wouldn鈥檛 necessarily be crazy about our type of program, have bought into it because keeping people who are no risk to society in jail shouldn鈥檛 be a drain on state resources鈥攅specially if we鈥檝e been training them in prison to be able to come home and utilize new vocational skills, whether that鈥檚 carpentry or horticulture or small engine repair. One thing we鈥檝e all been able to agree on is; let鈥檚 put these people to work.鈥�

Louisiana Parole Project started with one rental apartment and now owns several houses in the Baton Rouge area. And they鈥檝e been successful in getting former prisoners back to work and onto the straight and narrow. While the average Louisiana recidivism rate now is in the high 30s or low 40s, the recidivism rate among Louisiana Parole Project clients is less than 2%. About 85% are gainfully employed (some are too old or have serious health issues)鈥攐ne started his own carpentry business (Lancaster recently invested in a custom vinyl record storage cabinet made of pure maple) while another took a job as a sign language interpreter having learned the skill at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola to help a hearing-impaired fellow prisoner.

Louisiana Parole Project, in turn, receives help from LSU students. Law students assist in representing clients at parole hearings, while LSU Sociology and Ogden Honors College students do full internships.

鈥淎nd not just as paper-pushers and to help answer the phone,鈥� Hundley said. 鈥淭hese students are part of the entire process; they come with us to do client interviews in prison, help us bring people home. That鈥檚 important to us because we recognize that these students will become business owners and decision makers, prosecutors and judges. No matter where they鈥檒l be in life, I want them to know about this hidden part of our justice system鈥攚hat happens later, after people come home. Everything else is front-page news; the crime, the court case, and the jail time. Not what happens after.鈥�

Lucy Butterbaugh from New Orleans is a current intern who will graduate from LSU this spring with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology. She plans on attending law school this fall.

鈥淏efore Louisiana Parole Project, I鈥檇 never thought of the ways in which I could help after incarceration instead of before; this inspired me to think bigger than I previously had, and I found that really comforting in a way.鈥�

Lucy Butterbaugh, LSU senior in sociology and current Louisiana Prison Project intern with plans on attending law school this fall

鈥淭hrough this internship, I鈥檝e learned to see people as more than their criminal records,鈥� she said. 鈥淏efore Louisiana Parole Project, I鈥檇 never thought of the ways in which I could help after incarceration instead of before; this inspired me to think bigger than I previously had, and I found that really comforting in a way.鈥�

Another LSU intern is Josh Hermanstorfer, a Louisiana Service and Leadership (LASAL) scholar at the Ogden Honors College.

鈥淟ouisiana Parole Project strives to make the transition from incarceration to society easier for formerly incarcerated men and women who have been in prison for 20, 30, sometimes more than 40 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an extremely humbling experience, and without the help of Louisiana Parole Project, many of them would meet an overwhelming, fast-paced world without support to get them through. Our goal is to help these men and women become contributing members of society once again. It is difficult to find a more noble cause, and I feel like I鈥檓 actually contributing day-in and day-out. The simple interactions I get to have in the office each day continually reveal to me that we cannot be defined by the worst thing we have ever done鈥攖hat will stick with me for a long time.鈥�

Another LSU group Hundley collaborates with is the Tiger Prison Project, a student organization whose members volunteer to help Louisiana Parole Project clients learn how to use computers, smartphones, email, social media, WiFi, Google, and other technologies unfamiliar to them.

鈥淎s students who grew up alongside technology, volunteering is a humbling, gradual endeavor because it requires us to describe every step of activities that are almost second-nature,鈥� Tiger Prison Project President Drake Brignac said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 one of the most enriching experiences and you鈥檒l be hard-pressed to meet more grateful, patient people. We help teach them skills, but it鈥檚 equally important that Parole Project clients see that their community cares about them and wants them to succeed.鈥�

Tiger Prison Project recently organized a month-long book drive to collect over 1,000 books for Louisiana prisoners, something the students could do safely despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淭o me, Tiger Prison Project builds optimism for the future of Louisiana, and helps bolster a sense of public service.鈥�

Drake Brignac, president of Tiger Prison Project and LSU Stamps Scholar

鈥淢ost Louisianans may not know that 60% of adults in prison are functionally illiterate, while others frequently lack the resources to learn, entertain themselves, or meet benchmarks like earning a GED,鈥� Brignac said. 鈥淭o me, Tiger Prison Project builds optimism for the future of Louisiana, and helps bolster a sense of public service.鈥�

A former Louisiana Parole Project intern and LSU sociology alumna, Jolie Duarte, now works as a victim services advocate for the Louisiana Victim Outreach Program under the Department of Corrections鈥� Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole. Before an offender鈥檚 parole hearing, Duarte contacts the victims involved to let them know what is going on and what they can do prior to and during the hearing.

鈥淚t is hard to even try to find reason to support an offender when all you hear about is the crime committed, which often is the case for victims. It鈥檚 seeing the changes offenders make in themselves while incarcerated that makes you want to support them, and especially if they only committed one crime and went to prison as teenagers.鈥�

Jolie Duarte, victim services advocate for the Louisiana Victim Outreach Program, LSU sociology alumna, and former Louisiana Parole Project intern

鈥淭hat internship set my career in motion,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檇 learned about TIGER from Dr. Shihadeh in class 星空无限传媒, and after seeing it in action, I began to understand just how useful it is in helping to determine whether an offender is granted parole or denied.鈥�

鈥淣ow, as a victim services advocate, I don鈥檛 let my personal feelings or opinions get mixed in with the support we provide,鈥� Duarte continued. 鈥淏ut due to my background with Louisiana Parole Project, I have a dual view on offenders being released, although each case is different. It is hard to even try to find reason to support an offender when all you hear about is the crime committed, which often is the case for victims. It鈥檚 seeing the changes offenders make in themselves while incarcerated that makes you want to support them, and especially if they only committed one crime and went to prison as teenagers.鈥�

鈥淚 was lucky to have Keith [Nordyke] and parents who fought for me,鈥� Hundley said. 鈥淎nd in prison, too鈥擨 developed relationships with people; friends in prison become family, and I knew many people who were no less deserving of a second chance than I was; people who could change, and do something. So, when I got home, I wanted to use the life experiences I鈥檇 had in prison and help others.鈥�

鈥淲hen I got out, there were no resources for people who鈥檇 just left prison鈥攂eyond maybe their own families and a few charities,鈥� Hundley continued. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how the idea for the Parole Project came about, as a way to help with reentry. We use TIGER, too, to determine who鈥檇 be a good client and who we might be able to help the most. If someone is high-risk, they鈥檙e less likely to be a good fit for a peer mentorship program like ours because what we do is entirely based on individuals having respect for us; we don鈥檛 have badges, and we don鈥檛 carry weapons. We鈥檙e not law enforcement officers鈥攊n fact, everyone who works with us are formerly incarcerated people鈥攐ur mentorship model works because we鈥檝e been in their shoes, and we understand what it takes to be successful.鈥�

鈥淲e use TIGER, too, to determine who鈥檇 be a good client and who we might be able to help the most. If someone is high-risk, they鈥檙e less likely to be a good fit for a peer mentorship program like ours because what we do is entirely based on individuals having respect for us; we don鈥檛 have badges, and we don鈥檛 carry weapons.鈥�

Andrew Hundley

Assistant Secretary Covington acknowledges the critical role an organization like Hundley鈥檚 can play.

鈥淭he Parole Project has done a phenomenal job in helping people navigate this new world,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can have a low-risk person with high needs, and if those needs aren鈥檛 addressed, they will become high-risk because they鈥檒l start getting desperate.鈥�

鈥淭IGER, as a state-of-the-art tool, helps all of us get the leg up,鈥� Covington continued. 鈥淚nstead of the kitchen sink response, 鈥楧o these 50 things to comply with parole,鈥� TIGER helps our field officers avoid putting too much time and effort into low-risk people, which actually increases their risk because a large amount of supervision takes them away from jobs and social situations. If you over-program low-risk people, it will mess them up and they鈥檒l end up back in jail.鈥�

Perhaps the biggest surprise for Nordyke and Shihadeh when they were looking at the data on 15 years鈥� worth of past releases was the recidivism rate among second-degree murderers, such as Hundley.

鈥淚t was zero,鈥� Nordyke said. 鈥淶ero! That was big news, that you could get no recidivism out of these so-called 鈥榦ld, hardened criminals.鈥� Not a single one of them came back to prison. And among first-degree murderers, I don鈥檛 think we had more than two, and one of them went back to prison because of drunk driving. So, the issue at that point became, if you鈥檝e got a choice between a drug user, a drunk driver, and a second-degree murderer for a neighbor, who should you pick, for your own family鈥檚 safety? You pick the murderer. It鈥檚 true.鈥�

Shihadeh appreciates the power of big data to get to these types of surprising truths and discover solutions and possible savings for the state.

鈥淲e鈥檝e demonstrated in Louisiana that we can do this smarter and safer.鈥�

Ed Shihadeh, LSU professor of sociology and co-creator of the TIGER toolset to help evaluate the risk (and needs) posed by every prisoner in Louisiana

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have to spend enormous amounts of money on a bloated government program that doesn鈥檛 work,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e demonstrated in Louisiana that we can do this smarter and safer.鈥�

Jim Patterson, vice president of government relations at LABI (Louisiana Association of Business and Industry), appreciates what TIGER is doing for the Louisiana business community as well.  Through various forums and other efforts, LABI has been helping to connect employers with what Patterson calls 鈥渞eturning citizens.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about helping businesses find the workers they need,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd what they need are workers who show up on time, do a good day鈥檚 work, and no drama. That鈥檚 why assessment techniques such as TIGER are so important. They help us increase the number of businesses out there willing to give these people鈥攎any of them hard workers with valuable skills鈥攁 chance.鈥�

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A Long Time Coming鈥擫SU Alumna Shines New Light on Incarceration and 20-Year-Old LSU Social Work Case

Manship Professional-in-Residence Christopher Drew also involves LSU students in reporting on criminal justice through its Statehouse Bureau, news service, and other avenues. Criminal justice articles written by LSU Manship students: