(Idaho State Police Press Release, October 2, 2024; Cover Photo Credit: Idaho State Police)
The Idaho Statistical Analysis Center (ISAC) is pleased to announce the release of its report on the results of the 2024 Idaho Justice System Stakeholder Survey. The survey is conducted every five years as part of ISP Pass-Through Grants and Research’s (ISP PGR) strategic planning initiatives. ISAC collected responses during the spring of 2024 from six sectors of Idaho’s justice system: law enforcement, juvenile justice, adult corrections, victim services, judiciary/courts, and elected officials.
Some highlights from the report:
- Two main themes emerged as top priorities for Idaho’s justice system stakeholders: mental health and substance misuse treatment, and housing.
- When asked to name the top three public safety issues in their community, “crime related to mental illness” and “illicit drug use” were two of the five most commonly selected answers across all six sectors.
- These opinions are supported by data from other sources. The percentage of all reported criminal offenses that were drug offenses increased from 9% in 2005 to more than 25% in 2023. In that same time, the drug offense rate increased 55%, while most other types of crimes decreased. Additionally, Idaho’s fentanyl overdose death rate increased nearly 10-fold between 2012 and 2022, contributing to a 153% increase in the opioid overdose death rate.
- Respondents in three sectors ranked items related to housing as a top-five high need in their communities.
- 96% of respondents who work at victim service agencies ranked both affordable housing and transitional housing as high/moderate needs for crime victims, while 92% ranked emergency shelter as a high/moderate need.
Based on these findings, ISAC makes the following recommendations to the State, especially administrators of grant funding that goes towards justice system programs:
- Prioritize funding for mental health and substance misuse programs.
- Find innovative ways to expand the availability of emergency and transitional housing for victims of sexual and domestic violence.
- Front-line justice agencies should use the results of this survey to inform their own planning efforts.
The full report, which includes detailed survey results, can be downloaded from the ISAC Publication Library at https://isp.idaho.gov/pgr/isac/.
The Idaho Statistical Analysis Center (ISAC) is located within the Pass-Through Grants and Research Department of the Idaho State Police. The mission of ISAC is to disseminate research, data and statistics related to crime, illegal drugs, victim services, and the administration of justice in Idaho. To learn more about ISAC, or to access other data dashboards and publications, visit our website at https://isp.idaho.gov/pgr/isac/.
