The Arc - Center for Justice Innovation

Featured Update

Voices of Justice: Transforming Holding Cells with Soft-Firm

A conversation with the Talitha Liu and Lexi Tsien, the architects redesigning holding cells into a flexible programming and community space at the Midtown Community Justice Center.

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How AI Highlights the Need for Better Mental Health Care

Our new brief outlines how concerns about AI and mental health treatment shed light on the need for accessible, high-quality care.

Designing Safe Summers

New community-led murals for Gun Violence Awareness Month showcase how art can cultivate safety and connection.

A mural at the Red Hook Community Justice Center features three people peering out from beyond a lively city street with a street sign that says

4 Ways to Reimagine Justice in Local Courts

Our new report outlines key recommendations to help municipal courts deliver justice in more meaningful ways.

A row of pedicabs -- bicycle-drawn carriages -- line New York City's Central Park on a bright spring day

Does NYC’s Pedicab Problem Hold the Key to Justice Reform?

What New York City’s “pedicab problem” can teach us about delivering justice in today’s world.

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Beyond Mass Incarceration: 3 Problems and 3 Solutions

Three core problems that stem from excessive incarceration—and practical responses to build a better justice system.

10 Wins for Safety and Justice in 2025

Take a look at some exciting new initiatives, milestones, and highlights from our teams across the Center this year.

Reflecting on Strong Starts, 10 Years On

Over the past decade, the Strong Starts Court Initiative has worked to transform the family court process to focus on strengthening parents’ relationships with their babies.

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The Justice System Shouldn’t Be a Revolving Door. Here’s How to Prevent That.

These resources give practitioners and reformers new strategies to break cycles of rearrest and create a justice system that leaves people better off.

Professor Alexandra Natapoff of Harvard Law School

Voices of Justice: Professor Alexandra Natapoff on the Promise of Municipal Courts

“A lot of our criminal system takes place off the radar, in places we don’t pay enough attention to.”

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A New Home for Community Justice in East New York

People awaiting trial in East New York can now find vital resources closer to their own communities.

Restorative Justice: Myth versus Reality

Four myths about restorative justice and what they get wrong.

Seven people from our restorative justice team sit in a circle around a tapestry with various objects and trinkets.

How Restorative Justice Circles Help People Heal

Connection and understanding are basic human needs. In the wake of harm and conflict, restorative justice circles bring those needs back into focus.

Three women sit in conversation in front of colorful, multi-image display board between two large potted plants.

Voices of Justice: Why Restorative Justice?

A conversation with Kellsie Sayers, Erica Wright, and Hillary Packer on the transformative power of restorative justice.

Close-up shot of Thaddeus Canty with blue button-down shirt and sunglasses standing at entrance to Red Hook Community Justice Center

Voices of Justice: Thaddeus Canty on Leading the Red Hook Community Justice Center

A conversation with Thaddeus Canty, Project Director of the Red Hook Community Justice Center.

Man in blue Project Reset T-shirt speaks while pointing to a mural featuring three pink silhouetted figures in abstract style.

A Criminal Record Can Follow People for Life. There’s a Better Path.

Reforms like Project Reset show how we can respond to low-level offenses in ways that strengthen community and put people on track for a brighter future.

Reckoning with Trauma in Court

What would it look like for courts to respond to trauma with care and compassion?