18 USC 3631 – Duties of the Attorney General
(a)
(1) the Director of the Bureau of Prisons;
(2) the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts;
(3) the Director of the Office of Probation and Pretrial Services;
(4) the Director of the National Institute of Justice;
(5) the Director of the National Institute of Corrections; and
(6) the Independent Review Committee authorized by the First Step Act of 2018 1
Terms Used In 18 USC 3631
- department: means one of the executive departments enumerated in section 1 of Title 5, unless the context shows that such term was intended to describe the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of the government. See 18 USC 6
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- United States: as used in this title in a territorial sense, includes all places and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, except the Canal Zone. See 18 USC 5
(b)
(1) conduct a review of the existing prisoner risk and needs assessment systems in operation on the date of enactment of this subchapter;
(2) develop recommendations regarding evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities in accordance with section 3633;
(3) conduct ongoing research and data analysis on—
(A) evidence-based recidivism reduction programs relating to the use of prisoner risk and needs assessment tools;
(B) the most effective and efficient uses of such programs;
(C) which evidence-based recidivism reduction programs are the most effective at reducing recidivism, and the type, amount, and intensity of programming that most effectively reduces the risk of recidivism; and
(D) products purchased by Federal agencies that are manufactured overseas and could be manufactured by prisoners participating in a prison work program without reducing job opportunities for other workers in the United States;
(4) on an annual basis, review, validate, and release publicly on the Department of Justice website the risk and needs assessment system, which review shall include—
(A) any subsequent changes to the risk and needs assessment system made after the date of enactment of this subchapter;
(B) the recommendations developed under paragraph (2), using the research conducted under paragraph (3);
(C) an evaluation to ensure that the risk and needs assessment system bases the assessment of each prisoner’s risk of recidivism on indicators of progress and of regression that are dynamic and that can reasonably be expected to change while in prison;
(D) statistical validation of any tools that the risk and needs assessment system uses; and
(E) an evaluation of the rates of recidivism among similarly classified prisoners to identify any unwarranted disparities, including disparities among similarly classified prisoners of different demographic groups, in such rates;
(5) make any revisions or updates to the risk and needs assessment system that the Attorney General determines appropriate pursuant to the review under paragraph (4), including updates to ensure that any disparities identified in paragraph (4)(E) are reduced to the greatest extent possible; and
(6) report to Congress in accordance with section 3634.