Honoring Judge Alex Calabrese as a "fierce advocate for justice," John Jay College of Criminal Justice awarded the presiding judge of our Red Hook Community Justice Center an honorary degree alongside the class of 2019. Featured at the May commencement, this short film highlights Calabrese's transformational leadership in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and how an emphasis on healing can advance a more humane and effective justice system.

Center for Court Innovation director Greg Berman discusses 25 years of the Center's work with Dutch organization de Rechtspraak as we continue to "push, poke, and prod the justice system to be more effective and more humane." Interview available courtesy of de Rechtspraak. (See also video of Berman's candid Q & A with Center alum Chris Watler reflecting on his quarter-century tenure.)

New York State has passed sweeping criminal justice legislation, strictly curtailing the use of cash bail and pretrial detention, overhauling rules governing the sharing of evidence, and strengthening measures to ensure a defendant's right to a speedy trial. Our analysis of the potential implications of the reforms to bail finds they can be expected to significantly reduce the use of incarceration in the state. The measures go into effect in January 2020.

This year’s annual report captures the accomplishments of our more than 500 staff through numbers and stories. Together, they paint a picture of positive change: for government systems that have become more responsive to community concerns, for neighborhoods that are moving themselves toward safety and well-being, and for the thousands of people we work with who found healing and an opportunity to build lives outside of the justice system.