Diversion News Archive

  • In NYC, Art Class Instead of Prosecution

    CityLab

    A profile of two participants of Project Reset, an early diversion program that provides individuals arrested on low-level, non-violent misdemeanors an alternative to appearing in court and a way out of having a criminal record. As one notes, “Because once you get something on your record, you’re just viewed a different way.”

  • Shutter Island: Lessons from the Campaign to Close Rikers

    Daily News

    How does a radical idea become policy? And what can we take from the achievements of the campaign to close New York City's notorious Rikers Island jail facility that might help us confront other problems? In the Daily News, our director, Greg Berman, reflects on a landmark day in New York City criminal justice reform.

  • Low-Level Crimes Avoid Court with Art

    WNYC

    People arrested for low-level crimes in Brooklyn are getting a chance to avoid the court system if they participate in an art course offered by our Project Reset. A a two-hour class at the Brooklyn Museum helps them reflect on justice and accountability.

  • Project Reset: Art Sessions Instead of Jail

    New York Daily News

    Project Reset's goal is “ending a criminal justice system that turns minor offenses, minor crimes into lifelong problems,” New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said at an event at the Brooklyn Museum that marked the citywide expansion of the program.

  • Avoiding Prosecution of Minor Offenses through Art

    abc7 New York

    Project Reset expands to all of Brooklyn in partnership with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office and the Brooklyn Museum. Our program allows people arrested for low-level offenses to participate in an art course and avoid court and a criminal record.

  • The Next Battleground in the Fight to Close Rikers

    Gotham Gazette

    Legislation like the recent New York State justice reforms is a powerful tool, but it's no magic bullet. As former New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and our director, Greg Berman, argue, lasting change also requires the slow grind of transforming practice and culture.

  • How to Make New York’s New Criminal Justice Reforms Really Work

    Gotham Gazette

    With significant reforms aimed at reducing the harms of the justice system passed in New York State, Adam Mansky, our director of criminal justice, outlines three of our programs already in place that also represent a positive vision of what justice can look like.

  • Why We Need to Rethink Misdemeanor Justice

    Governing

    We all want safe neighborhoods, argues our Greg Berman in this op-ed, but the way we treat many people arrested for low-level offenses does more harm than good. Berman offers New York City as a potential model for other jurisdictions looking to reform low-level justice.