Can proactive policing continue to reduce crime while also limiting the disproportionate number of African Americans currently being arrested and jailed? Writing in Governing, our director, Greg Berman, says yes: refine police tactics, engage communities, and invest in community crime prevention.

If the justice system replaced jail and other traditional sanctions for misdemeanor defendants with services and treatment, what should those interventions look like? By identifying the drivers of repeat, low-level offending, this in-depth profile of misdemeanor defendants in New York City lays the groundwork for developing more effective and proportionate responses.

Written by Greg Berman, director of the Center for Court Innovation, and Julian Adler, director of policy and research, Start Here from The New Press offers a road map of concrete actions to reduce the number of people sent to jail and prison, highlighting key lessons from successful programs across the country.

Columbia University's Bruce Western, a leading expert on the connection between mass incarceration and poverty, discusses his new book, Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison, and outlines his vision for a justice system rebuilt to respond to the deep deprivation and trauma fueling much of the behaviour that leads to imprisonment.