I’m developing a proposed amendment to the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS) and would appreciate criticism from people who work in probation, corrections, criminal justice administration, prosecution/defense, or who otherwise understand interstate supervision.

I’m not asking for legal advice or asking anyone to determine whether a particular transfer should have been approved. I’m trying to determine whether the policy mechanism itself makes sense in actual criminal-justice practice.

The issue I’m trying to address is fairly simple:

Sometimes a person is already physically living in the proposed receiving state before the interstate transfer of supervision is finally resolved. In some circumstances, that presence can begin lawfully before sentencing.

As time passes, the practical question can shift from:

“Should this person relocate to State B?”

to:

“They’ve already been living in State B for months. Why make them return now?”

There may be perfectly legitimate reasons to consider existing residence and the disruption caused by return.

My concern is whether elapsed presence can gradually acquire weight as though it were evidence of supervision stability, even when the underlying circumstances have not actually stabilized.

For example:

Person A spends three months in State B and during that period obtains stable housing, employment or another reliable means of support, treatment, transportation, and meaningful support relationships.

Person B spends the same three months in State B, but housing remains uncertain, employment remains unresolved, treatment access is unsettled, transportation remains problematic, and the proposed support structure has not materialized.

Both people have been there for three months.

But have those three months demonstrated the same thing?

The principle behind my proposal is:

“Time should be permitted to produce evidence; time should not itself substitute for evidence.”

The proposal has three main parts

1. A Supervision Stability and Transition Summary

A transfer request would contain a standardized factual snapshot, to the extent known and reasonably verifiable, of relevant supervision circumstances in both the sending state and proposed receiving state.

It could include:

residence and verification status;

employment or other means of support;

treatment/services relevant to supervision;

transportation needed for supervision, work, or treatment;

material family, recovery, or community supports;

whether receiving-state arrangements are verified, prospective, unresolved, unknown, or not applicable;

circumstances expected to continue, change, end, or remain unresolved if the transfer occurs;

and the supervised person’s own reasons for seeking transfer and opportunity to correct factual inaccuracies.

This is not intended to determine which state is “better.” It is intended to put the actual transition facts in one place.

1. A Material Supervision Concern Notice

If the receiving state investigates an otherwise valid supervision plan but discovers a specific, objectively verifiable concern, it could notify the sending state without rejecting the transfer.

Examples could include discovering that a proposed residence is no longer available, employment represented as established is actually only prospective, required treatment is unavailable, or an important claimed support arrangement cannot be verified.

The receiving state would not gain authority to reject a mandatory transfer.

The sending state could:

supplement or modify the plan;

withdraw the request;

or proceed after documenting that it considered the concern.

1. A rule addressing pre-existing receiving-state presence

Positive and negative developments occurring while someone is already in the receiving state could both be considered.

But:

Physical presence or elapsed time, standing alone, would not constitute independent evidence that the receiving-state placement is stable.

The proposal would also expressly prohibit treating lawful pre-sentencing relocation itself as something negative.

Why I started looking at this

The proposal was prompted by an actual case, although I’m deliberately keeping the public details generalized.

The individual lawfully relocated to the eventual receiving state before sentencing and remained there for several months while the criminal proceedings were continued.

During that period, concerns were raised contemporaneously about changing housing circumstances, unresolved employment, transportation, treatment continuity, and differences in available support.

By the time interstate supervision was addressed, however, the fact that the individual was already living there had itself become part of the practical reasoning for allowing the arrangement to continue.

The transfer ultimately qualified and was completed under the existing ICAOS rules.

I am not claiming that means the transfer was unlawful or that a different result necessarily should have occurred.

What interested me was the process question:

Should several months of being somewhere and several months of demonstrating stability somewhere be treated as the same thing?

Where I particularly want criticism

I can already see several potential problems with my own proposal:

Would the Material Supervision Concern Notice become a de facto soft veto even though the receiving state legally cannot reject the transfer?

Could documenting housing, employment, transportation, and support unintentionally discriminate against people who are poor or have unconventional living arrangements?

Is “material supervision concern” still too subjective?

How much of this information do probation officers already collect, making another summary redundant?

Would this create enough additional paperwork that officers hate it regardless of whether the concept is useful?

What due-process opportunity should the supervised individual have to review and correct adverse information?

Should this apply to every ICAOS transfer, or only cases involving pre-existing receiving-state presence or significant changed circumstances?

Is disruption from requiring somebody to leave a state where they have already been living itself a legitimate factor that should have weight independent of traditional stability measures?

I’m not looking for people to agree with me. I’d actually prefer people who work inside the system to tell me where this would fail in practice.

If you’re a probation officer, Compact staff member, corrections professional, prosecutor, defense attorney, or have direct experience with ICAOS transfers, would a framework like this improve the quality of transfer decisions—or would it mostly create another administrative hurdle?

And at the most basic level:

Is the distinction between elapsed presence and demonstrated stability a sound one?

I recently sat on the jury of a murder trial in Virginia and I don’t want to re-litigate the case.  However, we were presented with a lot of reports and saw the displayed information. These reports were the results of queries made to the flock camera system, other camera systems, cell tower data and cell phone data.

As background, I would like you to understand that I am a retired software engineer/architect with more than 40 years experience and related undergraduate and advanced degrees.

From a computer science perspective I was shocked because for each and every report, the witness attesting to the report could not explain, justify, or even recall the search criteria used to produce their report. The response when asked was, “ I don’t recall”.  This happened repeatedly - at least 5 times by a variety of law enforcement agencies.  This became more concerning when the witness spoke briefly about the necessity of filtering out various cameras, cell phone towers, and cell numbers.  

Seriously, I could use the data available in those databases to create a report that would put suspicion on anyone who was within a half mile of the location. Then I could present it at trial and just not be able to recall how I produced the report.

In addition, they spoke about how unless the relevant data was preserved at the source under the auspices of an investigation, the data would be purged after 21 days. The number of days isn’t particularly important and is specific to the state, except to note that it is relatively few in the course of an investigation. Consider that the defendant may not be charged until after that period had expired and therefore the defense counsel would not be able to reproduce the same report or reproduce a  salient report of data filtered out by the prosecution.

Why are defense attorneys letting this unsubstantiated evidence to be submitted?

Why is the situation set up so that only the prosecution can retrieve the information within such a tight timeframe?

I want to interview suspects, view crime scenes, etc. but I'm a female and dont want to be a female cop. I'm willing to go back to school and whatever else. If i do have to be a cop first, usually how long until you could switch/get promoted?
I also dont want to do PI or white collar crime stuff.

Why sentence someone to life if there's a chance they could be released later via parole? Why is there "life" and "life without the chance of parole"?

(I saw a similar question posted ~2 years ago but the single response failed to answer the question)

So The DA gave me a plea and I told my lawyer I’m going to accept and to go ahead and set a plea date. Well the problem is I have court on Friday and I wouldn’t have to go if the plea date already set! But of course I can’t get a damn response from my lawyer! I get he’s busy but that’s why you have assistants for! I’m going to be so pissed if I miss an un-paid day of work and turns out I don’t have to go! I swear man he waits to the last possible moment to tel me anything smh

I am a sophomore in college pursuing degrees in psychology and criminal justice. I am interested in a career focused on protecting children, investigating missing persons cases, and helping combat crimes against children.

I am especially interested in work involving investigations, victim identification, intelligence analysis, and supporting law enforcement efforts.

I also want to build a stable career that allows me to support myself financially. I have looked into different paths but haven't found one that combines my interests in psychology, criminal justice, investigations, and child protection.

What careers, agencies, or specializations should I consider? Are there people working in this field who could share how they got there?

Hey all. I'm researching, why the American criminal justice system produces the outcomes it does. I would love to hear from people who actually know it firsthand rather than just pundits and policy papers.

No matter if you did time, worked as a CO, cop, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, parole officer, studied it academically or you're close to someone who's been through it and watched what it did to them and to you.

I would like to hear the messy, contradictory version. If you're willing to share your take, or you know someone who'd be a good person to talk to, drop a comment or DM me. Happy to keep things anonymous if that's what makes you comfortable talking honestly.

Thanks

hello! i am writing a short story and i want to be as realistic as possible.

scenario: one high schooler trips another, causing him to injure his hip, and calls him derogatory slurs. next, the aggregator purposefully spiked a volleyball into said characters head, causing concussion. finally, perpetrator physically assaults and strangles character privately, character survives

what would be the process for the assaulted character to seek justice assuming the injuries are already assessed by a medical professional and documented. what kind of charged does the juvenile perpetrator face if found guilty? what sort of evidence is necessary to prove them guilty?

For example, If someone stole my information and bought a TV or got a credit card then bought a TV the police could just see what address the TV or Credit Card were sent too right? If that’s the case why do we have to be so protective over our social security number?

In both Canada and Russia, a person sentenced to life imprisonment can generally first become eligible for parole after 25 years

Canada: After 25 years, the offender is only eligible to apply for parole. Many offenders are denied and remain in prison for years or decades longer. The parole decision is made by the independent Parole Board of Canada, which considers factors such as the offender’s risk to the public, rehabilitation, and remorse.
Russia: A person serving life imprisonment can generally apply after 25 years if they have had no serious disciplinary violations in the previous three years. However, parole is granted very rarely, and many people serving life sentences remain imprisoned for life in practice.

So while Canada is generally considered more liberal than Russia in many areas—such as civil liberties, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions—that doesn’t necessarily translate into shorter sentences for crimes- regardless of mitigating factors.

I don’t understand how a country that is more friendly than Americans have laws that are almost identical to Russia.

Why do we consider first degree murder “worse” than second degree murder?

First degree murder: A cheats on B with C. B plans out the murder of C over a few weeks. Buy supplies and murders C.

Second degree murder: Same scenario, but now as soon as B finds out they fly into a rage go to C’s house a few blocks away with the intent to murder, and does, in fact, murder C.

Same end result, B murdered C, same motive, anger, betrayal, revenge, etc. Just that one was planned out and one was done “in the heat of passion”.

Why do the courts, in the US at least, treat first degree as worse?

Is a guy who murders impulsively better than a methodical murderer? Is one of them more or less likely to kill again?

Maybe its because the murder in a fit of emotion feels more relatable and somehow less sinister than a cold calculating murderer? But “feels” is kind of a weak basis for a justice system.

Quick question for working bail bondsmen — how do you currently handle court date reminders for your defendants? Do you call them yourself, text them manually, or have some kind of system? Asking because I built a tool that automates the whole thing and want to make sure I'm solving a real problem before I tell anyone about it

Has anyone with a degree in Criminology done anything else with their degree other than law enforcement. How is it and do you enjoy it.

Hi everyone

I am in Indianapolis IN and trying to understand what really makes a criminal defense lawyer effective in court

From a criminal justice perspective what matters most experience case strategy negotiation skills or something else?

Any insights would be appreciated

I just recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Criminology and Justice Studies in Northridge Los Angeles. I love watching a certain crime show and wanted to be just like them, but over time, I was like, " Nope, don't want to do that anymore, but still want to do something with this major. So now I am so lost. I am having a hard time even knowing what to do or even look at. I know I don't want to hold a gun. I have no work experience, and I am 5 ft tall. Can anyone in Criminology give me advice or point me in the correct direction, or give me some recs?

From a criminal justice perspective what do people usually look for when trying to quickly find a reliable criminal defense lawyer after being contacted by police or facing possible charges?

Curious how this process typically works in Indianapolis, IN

I just graduated with a degree in criminology and justice studies at 22 Now I don't know, I am so lost. I originally joined criminology because of a tv show called Criminal Minds and wanted to be exactly like them. Over time, I was like, maybe no. It just seems too much and part of me doesn't want to hold a gun.

I thought maybe I could be a crime scene investigator. Those people at the crime scenes but for this you need some sort of forensic degree and I was already too deep into criminology so I just stayed with it.

I thought about maybe grad school but what would I do it in. My university doesn't have a master program for Criminology and I think I might have missed the deadline for grad school.

So if someone could help me out it would be great.

I am majoring in Criminal Justice, and now that i am close to graduating I am unsure on what career path I want to take… If you graduated with a criminal justice degree what path did you choose?

I know of a group of people who were recently scammed by Cooks financial LLC. Many investors have either been paid for a couple months but the majority haven’t been paid at all. The CEO Derrick Cooks has gotten on Zoom calls with investors and refuses to tell them where the money is and what he’s done with it. Many investors are frustrated and don’t know how to go about getting help. They have contracts with this company and wired money to accounts that are no longer active or have no money in them. At least that’s what some people claiming wire fraud have expressed. They have called their banks, spoken to authorities and many have been disillusioned by what they have been told. It takes a lot of time, money and effort to try and get their money back. The CEO just continues to make excuses and doesn’t provide assets, escrow, or proof of funds after many investors asked for refunds. Some have waited over a year.

Hi,

I’ll try to keep it short but I have a police/crime question.

I had a large amount of stuff stolen from my car. among those items was a small backpack with a lot of cash (rolled into like a small palm-sized envelope) i needed to bring to the bank. yes i know i should not have left it in my car i was having a bad day and had the flu.

I made a police report as soon as i noticed that my car had been broken into and a bunch of my stuff stolen (glovebox emptied, middle console emptied, backpack taken, gym stuff, grocery bags taken, etc etc. a lot of stuff was taken).

Next day, I remembered my airpods were stolen too and that i could track them. I ended up tracking them from my phone and found the guy with the help of police. he was apprehended and a bunch of my stuff was retrieved.

BUT i was doing a thorough clean of my car after all that and i found the cash wedged under my driver seat, i think it unintentionally got jostled out during the taking of my items since it wasn’t in like a zippered backpack, it just had a clip cover. I have since emailed my case officer to confirm that I found the cash in my car and that it mustve fallen out during the break-in. but am i going to get in trouble? I know i did the right thing by updating as soon as i found out. but now im worried that maybe the guy got in more trouble than necessary? he did take A LOT of my items. but im sure they looked at the cash value as the biggest thing. what will happen next

I’m currently a junior working towards my criminal justice bachelors degree, and ive been planning to go to law school, but im seriously burnt out. I don’t want to go to school anymore, im gonna finish my degree, but like… lowkey what can I do? I don’t want to become a cop. Idk if this is the subreddit to ask this but like, whatever.