Supervised Release is as effective as bail at ensuring people make their court appearances, sparing them the documented harms of pretrial detention and allowing them to receive supportive services in their community. In 2022, Supervised Release providers in New York City served about 17,000 participants.
Juan Carlos Areán from Futures Without Violence speaks with Jojopahmaria Nsoroma, the owner and steward of Higher Expectations Consulting Collaborative, and James Encinas, Spanish program facilitator and trainer at the Family Peace Initiative, about the importance of self-reflection in facilitating abusive partner intervention programs. The group explores the ways in which engaging in ongoing self-reflection is an essential part of a facilitator's work in order to create a model of accountability for facilitators and participants alike.
April Barber Scales was a pregnant 15-year-old when she received two life sentences; Anthony Willis was 16 when he was sent away for life. After more than 25 years behind bars, they each received something desperately rare: clemency. They describe how they fought against a prison system that "sets you up for failure." We also hear from an organization in Baltimore that works exclusively with young people at high risk of violence. Rather than arrests and incarceration, what do these young people need?
In this report, the Center for Court Innovation’s West Coast Initiatives team shares valuable lessons derived from its experience in helping to plan and launch equitable early diversion programs in Los Angeles. The insights offered here can provide guidance for other diversion initiatives in efforts to bridge the gap between legal systems and communities while caring for vulnerable populations.
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.
Women and gender-expansive people are uniquely vulnerable to the widespread violence, dysfunction, and lack of access to essential services on Rikers Island. This report contains policy recommendations to safely and effectively reduce the number of these individuals in New York City jails to below 100 in order to achieve the planned closure of Rikers Island by 2027.
Bronx Heroin Overdose Prevention and Education (HOPE), a new initiative of Bronx Community Solutions, addresses substance use issues with a harm-reduction model at the precinct level. By giving clients the option of accessing community services instead of appearing in court, Bronx HOPE gives Bronx residents the opportunity for rehabilitation and connection to community rather than jail or options that don’t address the underlying issues.
School and program staff believed that Margaret’s Place, a trauma-informed program in two New York City public schools, was valued by students and produced positive changes in student coping skills, behavior, and grades. This report documents early program implementation through Spring 2020. Program implementation and evaluation are ongoing; the final report will document the continued efforts (anticipated April 2023).
The Bronx Community Justice Center works to create a safer, more equitable Bronx through community-driven public safety initiatives, youth opportunity, and economic mobility efforts focused in the South Bronx. Our vision is to support the South Bronx community to become a safe and thriving place where local ownership, community-led investment, and youth opportunity can flourish. The Bronx Community Justice Center works toward this vision by focusing on community safety, restorative practices, and youth and economic development.
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.
