Rethinking Incarceration News Archive

Providing alternatives to incarceration, the Center's Midtown Community Court's new Misdemeanor Mental Health Court (MMHC) will support individuals suffering from mental illness. Low-level offenses, such as shoplifting and illegal drug use, will now have social services and community service options that are restorative to both the community and participants. The Court's Youth Part has also been expanded to include young adults ages 18 through 25, reducing the risk of recidivism by targeting the root causes for criminal justice involvement.

Using the example of parents and caretakers stealing diapers and baby products, the New Yorker looks at the debate happening in New York about low-level prosecution. The article cites our new report on shrinking New York's misdemeanor system and Michael Rempel, co-author of the study, shares that the harms that jail produces "are criminogenic—leading to higher rates of recidivism than would have otherwise arisen had people been released.” 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City’s court system has seen a backlog of cases, nearly 52,000 criminal cases were pending as of November 2021. The article cites our report on closing Rikers Island that found that improvements to the court backlog and case processing times could lower the city jail population by more than 1,000 people.

Orleny Rojas, who serves as deputy director of Criminal Court Operations, believes sustainable change starts with small acts.

Barry has been arrested approximately 160 times, while facing drug addiction, homelessness, and a lack of job skills and opportunities. As our executive director Courtney Bryan and senior staff say, there are alternatives to the criminal justice system that can address the underlying factors that cause the behavior and find solutions for a new path forward.

Jails across the U.S. are releasing people to stop the spread of COVID-19 behind bars, but a lot of people remain. Julian Adler, our director of policy and research, says that some of the population who remain likely pose little threat to public safety, and that he "hopes the current push to rethink who should be kept inside will change public attitudes in the longer term."

Judge Victoria Pratt, who helped launch Newark Community Solutions, and Julian Adler, co-author of Start Here, explain to Fresh Air host Terry Gross what can be done right now to reduce the number of people sent to jail and prison.