"We need a vision of a better society: a future grounded in love, justice, accountability, a future grounded in safety and good health," Ashish Prashar makes the argument against incarceration and includes our Red Hook Community Justice Center and Harlem Community Justice Center as examples of successful restorative justice programs.
All five of New York City’s District Attorneys came together to write a joint letter arguing that unless funding for Project Reset is renewed, the program will be eliminated in most of the city. The program, currently offered in all boroughs and to all ages, provides a proportionate and meaningful response to low-level offenses to offer people a second chance.
Emily Bazelon, author and journalist, joins Brian Lehrer to talk about the policy and the politics around the use of restorative justice in schools and in courtrooms, looking to our Red Hook Community Justice Center and our Restorative Justice in Schools program as examples.
Wesleyan alumni and community leaders, including our director of policy and research Julian Adler, discussed the the intersection of criminal justice and the 2020 election. The panelists discussed a wide range of issues, including harnessing the decarceral moment driven by coronavirus and the power of students and young people to affect change.
When New York's bail reform took effect in January, it meant people wouldn't be behind bars because they couldn't afford their freedom. Some judges are skirting the intent of that law by setting alternative forms of bail, like partially secured bonds (PSB), at significantly higher rates. Our Krystal Rodriguez explains the intent behind PSBs.
Krystal Rodriguez, co-author of our study, Bail Reform Revisited, presented in a webinar series with the Center on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice to explore the impact of the 2019 bail reform bill and its 2020 amendments on the culture of pretrial incarceration during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in New York.
Darcel Clark, Eric Gonzalez, Melinda Katz, Michael Mcmahon And Cy Vance—the district attorneys representing all five boroughs in New York City—came together to write their support of Project Reset, a criminal diversion effort, which is at-risk of losing funding if the city does not renew the program by September 30.
High school student Rainier Harris, a second-year member of our Youth Justice Board, writes in The New York Times about experiencing racism at his school and the school's decision to respond with restorative justice. "Restorative justice," he writes, "inspires solutions that achieve value and respect for everyone. It’s the only way real change can be made."
New York's bail reform "probably increases public safety, by avoiding the harmful effects that create recidivism." Citing our director of jail reform, Mike Rempel, Gothamist examines the campaign to link bail reform to violent crime.
Michael Rempel, director of jail reform at the Center, say it is far too early to draw any hard conclusions on how the new laws have affected New York, given that the policy has been in effect less than a year, and that COVID-19 has created "a series of confusing dynamics" within the criminal justice system that make it even tougher to study.
