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The Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) promotes and fosters the exchange of information and knowledge between members, professional organizations, and the public for high-quality planning, design, and delivery of justice architecture.

AAJ Research & Technology Committee updates

By Kerry Feeney posted 04-16-2021 06:13 PM

  

Virtual Courts Working Group

The pandemic has closed courthouses and restricted case flow.  The use of virtual court technology has allowed the courts to maintain some semblance of operations.  Coupled with electronic filing and payments courts have learned that video conversations with the public increase confidence in the technology. The use of virtual court technology in some cases was made possible by a temporary relaxing of court rules requiring in-person appearances.  Video court technology has clear advantages in many types of proceedings including lower court proceedings such as traffic and misdemeanors, small claims and evidentiary hearings and is a necessary component of all future court operations in combination with in-person trials.  Some jurisdictions have utilized zoom for jury trials including voir dire, trial and deliberation however there is a large backlog of pending cases. 

The Virtual Courts Working Group has been reviewing the effect of the pandemic on the courts and the use virtual court technology and anticipate continued coordination with organizations such as the National Center for State Courts.

 

Committee Solitary Confinement Working Group

It is estimated more than 2 million arrests in the US involve people with serious mental illnesses. Our prisons and jails have become our default mental institutions, and there is abundant evidence prolonged solitary confinement (also known as restrictive housing, isolation, administrative segregation/separation, etc.) can be mentally and psychologically traumatic. However, more than 80,000 of those incarcerated are estimated to be in solitary confinement, and of those 80,000, the seriously mentally ill are overrepresented. Organizations across the country are working toward alternatives to solitary confinement and methods to reduce use.  The AIA has recently amended its Code of Ethics to “prohibit members from knowingly designing spaces intended for execution and torture, including indefinite or prolonged solitary confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more per day without meaningful human contact, for more than 15 consecutive days.” The new Solitary Confinement Working Group is seeking partnerships and funding opportunities to better isolate the impacts of the physical environments as well as benchmarking use and protocols in detention, corrections, and forensic facilities.

 

Lighting in Correctional Facilities – Summary of Status

Lighting in typical correctional facilities include limited access to adequate natural light, limited and incorrect spectrum artificial lighting, and lighting that is kept on at all hours of the night. It is hypothesized that these conditions result in disruption of sleep patterns and the circadian cycle with related impacts on inmates and staff including negative psychological, behavioral, and physical health outcomes. The potential of improved design layouts, together with programmable LEDs, to remedy the situation are worthy of study as they have potential beneficial impacts including improved physical and mental health, reduced utilization of health care and mental health services, improved attentiveness when attending programs, reduced stress and related behavioral manifestations including conflict, fights and assaults, etc.

The proposed research study would take place at a women’s correctional facility in Ohio that is currently under construction and will include programmable LEDs in housing units. The study would entail both a before-and-after study comparing outcomes related to existing conditions versus the new ones as well as a comparison within each housing unit where the capabilities of the LEDs were activated within some sleeping areas and not in others for a period of time.

 

NEW: Deflection & Diversion Working Group

Jurisdictions around the country have been actively developing policies and practices to provide alternatives to traditional justice-involvement, particularly for those with mental health and substance use disorders. These pre-arrest and pretrial strategies, deflection and diversion, respectively, include a broad range of formal and informal approaches to keep individuals out of or remove individuals from the justice system. As these practices are rapidly gaining popularity, the new AIA-Academy of Architecture for Justice Deflection & Diversion Working Group is part of an effort by the AIA-AAJ Research & Technology Committee to catalog and analyze nationwide policy implementations toward the development of a clearinghouse of best practices in deflection and diversion across the United States and internationally. This working group is actively seeking research partnership and funding opportunities.

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