In a new report, more than 100 young people in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, open up about why they carry guns. Their answer? Fear—for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. Hear from the people who made the study happen—Javonte Alexander, Basaime Spate, and Elise White—our community researchers with personal ties to the social networks of the young people who shared their experiences.
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‘Kids trying to live’: A novel study in Brooklyn explores why teens are carrying guns
Gun violence spiked during the pandemic in 2020, making headlines, but little is known about why young people carry guns in the first place. In a new study exclusively previewed by Gothamist, our researchers worked to change that, asking 100 young people from Crown Heights, Brooklyn, why they carry.
Our knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in the field of justice reform has grown significantly in recent decades, but our willingness to pilot new initiatives has not kept pace. Through a focus on a pioneering New York City court, this article argues alternative-to-incarceration programs should follow the research and open participation to more charges, including violent ones, and seek to address a wider array of needs.
"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Inspired by the famous words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we are proud to introduce The Arc, a new space for ideas and insights on the future of justice. The Arc will give you an inside view of the tireless efforts to build justice—one game-changing idea, passionate advocate, and innovative program at a time.
"On every anniversary of Gideon, liberals bemoan the state of indigent defense." On this 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision granting a lawyer to every poor defendant facing prison time, there is much to bemoan. Yet as the harms of the criminal legal system come into sharper relief, there is a larger question: even if Gideon's promise was fulfilled, how much would that change who principally suffers under the current system: the poor and people of color?
We talk of “second chances,” but rarely do we recognize that many of the millions of people returning from jail and prison each year never got a first one. This policy brief outlines a new vision for reentry focused on the social integration due to returning citizens. That starts with two priorities: immediate access to housing and to trauma-informed therapy.
