New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center Projects

The following list summarizes both ongoing and recently completed NMSAC research projects. Final reports can be accessed by clicking on the NMSAC Publications link in the menu to the left.

Current Projects

Comparing the Outcomes of Three Alternative Sentences: Conditional Discharge, Deferred Sentences, and Suspended Sentences

This three-year Bureau of Justice Statistics funded project has two key components:

  1. Assess disposition and sentencing data quality for felony-level cases over a seven-year period
  2. Complete a research study examining alternative sentences.

While community-based supervision is common across the United States, there is little research comparing these types of sentences.

Specifically, the research study will focus on three types of alternative sentences: conditional discharges, deferred sentences, and suspended sentences to better understand when judges order these sentences, whether there are differences in sentence length and success rates, and how this varies by legal and extralegal variables.

This is particularly important as there are concerns that rather than reduce the harmful effects of incarceration, the use of community-based sentences actually “widen the net” due to revocations to prison for violations.

Evaluation of S-STEM

The University of New Mexico’s S-STEM Program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant offered through the School of Engineering.  The purpose of the program is to promote graduation and retention rates among engineering and computer science majors, and to prepare the next generation of Peace Engineers. As part of the program, undergraduate students engage in Service Learning/Community Engagement (SL/CE) experiences with local organizations via paid internships or honors thesis/problems courses. The NMSAC evaluates program implementation and short-term outcomes.

Completed Projects

Assessment of Bail reform in New Mexico

In 2016, New Mexico voters passed a constitutional amendment to reform bail practices in the State. The amendment is intended to ensure that non-dangerous defendants are not detained pretrial simply because they cannot afford to post bond while simultaneously ensuring that dangerous defendants are not released just because they are able to post bond. The New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center received funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to assess bail reform. This is a multi-phase study. The first phase focused on creating baseline performance measures to assess pre-amendment practices, examining data from four county detention centers, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), and the Department of Public Safety. The study includes 4,275 new felony bookings; over half were ordered to pay a secured bond for release. The study also examines length of stay and pretrial success.

The second phase of the project focused on implementation. NMSAC staff interviewed judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, and pretrial services staff across the state; observed court hearings; and reviewed relevant publications and other documents.  The study documents the implementation of bail reform by describing the pretrial process as it pertains to release decisions and perceived impact of the amendment, including reform success and areas for improvement. There is both an executive summary and a full-length report.

 A third report explores pretrial detention motions and their outcomes using a sample of court cases across the state. The study examines the number of pretrial detention cases filed between 2017 and 2020 among 76,501 felony-level cases in New Mexico. Then, with a sample of 300 randomly selected cases, it examines the outcomes of pretrial detention motions. It also explores case and defendant characteristics associated with prosecutors’ decisions to file for preventative detention and how these are related to pretrial detention outcomes. A brief “Fast Facts” report accompanies the full-length report.

Next, NMSAC staff examined the impact of bail reform in six New Mexico Counties, using data from the AOC and detention centers. The study examines release conditions, including the use of bond, among all criminal court cases filed in six New Mexico counties between 2015 and 2019 (N=314,628). It then examines pretrial detention practices, pretrial performance, and court efficiency for new felony cases for a sample of cases involving new felony charges (N=20,112). A summary of this study is available.

Covid-19 and Bail Reform in New Mexico

Building on the multi-phase assessment of bail reform, this phase of the study examined the impact of bail reform and Covid-19 restrictions on individuals detained for new misdemeanors and new felonies using data from six county detention centers and the Administrative Office of the Courts. It also explored the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on detention center populations.

Assessment of bail reform in New Mexico

In 2016, New Mexico voters passed a constitutional amendment to reform bail practices in the State. The amendment is intended to ensure that non-dangerous defendants are not detained pretrial simply because they cannot afford to post bond while simultaneously ensuring that dangerous defendants are not released just because they are able to post bond. The New Mexico Statistical Analysis Center received funding from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to assess bail reform. This is a multi-phase study. The first phase focused on creating baseline performance measures to assess pre-amendment practices, using data from four county detention centers, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), and the Department of Public Safety. The second phase focused on implementation. For this portion of the study, we interviewed judges, prosecuting attorney, defense attorneys, and pretrial services staff across the state; observed court hearings; and reviewed relevant publications and other documents.  The study documents the implementation of bail reform by describing the pretrial process as it pertains to release decisions and perceived impact of the amendment, including reform success and areas for improvement. A third report explores pretrial detention motions and their outcomes using a sample of court cases across the state.  The study addresses three overarching questions:

  1. What are the estimated rates of filing for preventative detention?
  2. What are the outcomes of these motions?
  3. What case and defendant characteristics are associated with prosecutors’ decisions to file for preventative detention and how these are related to pretrial detention outcomes?

Most recently, we examined the impact of bail reform in six New Mexico Counties, using data from the AOC and detention centers. The study examines the use of bond in all criminal court cases and for those involving only new felony cases. Among new felony cases, the study also examines pretrial detention practices, pretrial performance among those released, and court efficiency. The next phase will examine the impact of bail reform on misdemeanants, and the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on bail reform practices using data from detention centers and the AOC.