The Institute for Strategic Policy Solutions at St. Petersburg College will host the first in a series of four forums on prison reform on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 6-8 p.m. at the Seminole Campus Digitorium (UP 160). The forum, titled Does Incarceration Reduce Crime?, features a panel of five experts in academia and law enforcement. Panelists will explore the questions of effectiveness, taxpayer costs, emerging public safety research and practices and the extent to which incarceration succeeds in reducing crime.

The forum is a collaborative effort with the Florida State University Project for Accountable Justice, a coalition that combines academic research and practical solutions with the goal of helping state lawmakers reform the state prison system. The partnership includes ISPS, Florida State University, Baylor University and Tallahassee Community College.

Panel members include:

• Daniel D’Amico, William Barnett Professor of Free Enterprise Studies, Loyola University, New Orleans
• Julie Ebenstein, Policy and Advocacy Counsel, Florida Branch of the American Civil Liberties Union
• Anthony Holloway, Chief of Police, City of Clearwater
• Marc Levin, Director, Center for Effective Justice, Texas Public Policy Foundation/Right on Crime

Dr. Allison DeFoor, Chairman, Project for Accountable Justice, will serve as moderator.

Future programs in this series will address pretrial decision-making, juvenile justice and citizen oversight of the criminal justice system. The series is free and open to the public but advance registration is requested online or by phone at 727-394-6251.