The Center for Justice Innovation—and our operating programs—are regularly featured in the media. Here is a sampling of the press coverage of our work.
Violence interruption is a community-based strategy to reduce gun violence and improve public safety in neighborhoods. Our anti-violence program Save Our Streets is profiled and named as a highly successful example of curbing gun violence in the South Bronx, reducing gun victimization by 63 percent in its initial years of implementation.
Prevention: one solution to gun violence that is able to save lives. Shootings disproportionately affect Black communities, and some community members are taking matters into their own hands. “Beyond Black History” podcast host Femi Redwood takes a look at SOS BedStuy’s work to use the power of credible messengers and positive change agents to mediate conflict and prevent violence.
A coalition of criminal justice advocates and experts, including the Center, are calling on New York City officials to study ways to safely release 70% of the women and gender-expansive people being held in Rose M. Singer Center (“Rosie’s”) on Rikers Island. The plea comes a little over a month after the death of Mary Yehudah on Rosie’s. Recommendations include the city form a “population review team” to examine who would be good candidates for release.
"I’d just like people to know that we’re here to continue to help people and try to make a difference for the community,” says Edna McGoldrick of the Red Hook Community Justice Center and the services offered. After operating virtually during the pandemic, our Red Hook Community Justice Center and housing court are re-opened, allowing our staff to assist residents access the repairs, renewals, and services they need, and as always, treat every person that comes through the doors with dignity and respect.
In a series on gun violence in New York by The Trace and The Guardian, the final article details the complex reasons that shootings have declined in Brooklyn, crediting Brooklyn’s more-developed infrastructure of Crisis Management System groups and its network of community-based organizations, like the Brownsville Community Justice Center. Hailey Nolasco, our director of community-based violence prevention; Mallory Thatch, program manager; and Deron Johnston, the deputy director for community development, share their perspectives on on the changes—both positive and negative—Brownville has seen regarding gun possession and violence.
In a series on gun violence in New York by The Trace and The Guardian, the second of three articles looks at how law enforcement’s ability to solve a crime, especially a shooting, can build or erode trust between law enforcement and the community affected. The article references multiple studies, including the Center's own report, Gotta Make Your Own Heaven, which documented that young people who carry firearms in communities with higher rates of violence often fear the police, which contributes to their decision to carry.
In a series on gun violence in New York by The Trace and The Guardian, the first article explores New York City's surge in gun crime and how it largely coincides with the pandemic. The article explores new and existing approaches to prioritize public safety, like NeighborhoodStat, that gives public housing residents tools and resources to set priorities around quality-of-life issues has shown to reduce violence across the city. Hailey Nolasco, our director of community-based violence prevention, says "let’s continue to bolster community-led efforts and not cause more harm to our communities."
Philadelphia is one of five major cities receiving national funding to study the factors driving youth gun violence. The research model involves hiring people with lived experience to ask questions in their own neighborhoods. Our Elise White and Basaime Spate, who are leading the study, share how having credible people ask the questions will improve turnout and the quality of responses. "The folks who live the experience also end up controlling the data at the end, so they control the narrative. And that’s an extremely important thing when you look at the way that gun violence gets talked about,” says Dr. White, research director.
President of the Times Square Alliance, Tom Harris, talks about the area’s recovery and shares more about the partnership with our Midtown Town Community Court, Breaking Ground, and Fountain House to create theCommunity First program, which connects the unhoused populations of Times Square to local resources, including housing and mental health services.
