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Publications & Digital Media

Format
  • Publication

    When Incarceration Is Automatic: Mandatory Minimums and Race

    by Fred Butcher, Amanda Cissner, and Michael Rempel

    Mandatory minimum sentencing laws took shape amid the “tough-on-crime” push of the late 1970s, making a signal contribution at the origins of our mass incarceration era. How would eliminating these laws—in whole or in part—affect the stark racial disparities in who is in prison in New York?

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Bail Reform, Diversion
  • Audio

    Emphasizing the Harms

    by Matt Watkins

    A recent two-day training for Manhattan prosecutors was a drumbeat on the harms of incarceration, part of a wider effort by D.A. Alvin Bragg to expand the use of alternatives such as treatment and restorative justice. But in a newly cramped climate for criminal justice reform, can that effort become a reality? New Thinking investigates.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Bail Reform, Diversion, Reducing Trauma, Restorative Justice, Treatment Courts
  • Audio

    Evicting Evictions

    by Matt Watkins

    Housing is a human right. What if we designed our systems—beginning with Housing Court—to embody that? Given the current eviction crisis, it's a far-off concept, but there's work to make it a reality in pockets across the country. In this special episode of New Thinking, hear a profile of one of those efforts in Brooklyn, led by our Red Hook Community Justice Center.

    Access to Justice, Addressing Racial Disparities
  • Video

    The Tulsa County Domestic Violence Court - Videos

    The Tulsa County Domestic Violence Court in Oklahoma is a criminal court model that handles misdemeanor and felony domestic violence cases and coordinates with family court in an urban setting. Learn from the court and stakeholder team about this specialized domestic violence court and how it tackles offender accountability, working collaboratively, and victim safety.

    Aiding Survivors, Addressing Racial Disparities, Domestic Violence, Strengthening Families
  • Publication

    ​Population Review Teams: Evaluating Jail Reduction and Racial Disparities Across Three Jurisdictions

    by Joanna Weill, Amanda Cissner, and Sruthi Naraharisetti

    Currently implemented in more than a dozen cities around the country, jail Population Review Teams (PRTs) are one strategy to reduce jail populations. Funded by the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) and with guidance from ISLG, the Center for Court Innovation conducted a quantitative research study of the PRT model and its impacts in three sites through the spring of 2020: Lucas County, Ohio; Pima County, Arizona; and St. Louis County, Missouri.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Procedural Justice
  • Audio

    Why Data Doesn't Stick

    by Matt Watkins

    Efforts to reform the justice system—including our own—often tout they're "evidence-based" or "data-driven." But at a moment when a pandemic-era spike in crime seems to have put the reform movement on its heels, New Thinking asks: why do arguments based on data rarely seem to win the day? Christina Greer and John Pfaff—two scholars working at the intersection of data and politics—explain.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Bail Reform, Evidence-Based Practices, Reducing Trauma
  • Publication

    Restorative Justice in NYC Schools: An Evaluation

    by Lama Hassoun Ayoub, Lina Villegas, Elise Jensen, and Andrew Martinez

    Many schools have adopted a form of restorative justice, but there are few rigorous evaluations of its effects. Our study of an ambitious project in a handful of New York City schools returned a mixed result: widespread perceptions of an improved school climate, but little movement in our primary metric—the use of suspensions. Should future researchers prioritize outcomes more aligned with restorative justice's overall goals?

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Restorative Justice, Youth Initiatives
  • Publication

    The Will to Decarcerate: COVID-19 and NYC's Early Release Program

    by Andrew Martinez, Joanna Weill, Lina Villegas, Camille Wada, Michael Rempel, and Tia Pooler

    Jail populations can be reduced swiftly and humanely—where the political will exists. That is the primary lesson to emerge from our study of New York City’s Early Release Program. Quickly constructed as the pandemic first hit Rikers Island in March 2020, the program helped drive the city's jail population to its lowest level in 75 years. With the curtailment of those efforts, the population has since increased by 60 percent.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Diversion, Reducing Trauma
  • Publication

    Advancing Racial Equity: Shrinking Misdemeanor Prosecution in New York

    by Fred Butcher, Michael Rempel, and Krystal Rodriguez

    Our analysis of New York City misdemeanor cases shows the system rarely results in criminal convictions but inflicts "process is punishment" effects as people experience arrest, detention, and daylong waits for brief court appearances. We also found stark racial disparities in who is prosecuted. Following from our findings, we offer statewide legislative recommendations for shrinking misdemeanor prosecution.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Diversion
  • Audio

    The Question of Dirty Work

    by Matt Watkins

    Eyal Press contends there are entire areas of life we've delegated to "dirty workers"—functions we've declared necessary, but that we strive to keep hidden. In his new book, Press points to the transformation of jails and prisons into the country's largest mental health institutions. He calls the people struggling to offer treatment in those settings "dirty workers"—not because their work isn't noble, but because collectively we've put them in a situation where it's impossible to practice ethical care.

    Addressing Racial Disparities, Reducing Trauma

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