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  • NYC is sending social workers instead of police to some 911 calls. Here's how it's going.

    July 23, 2021 |

    USA Today |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    A pilot project in three New York Police Department precincts of Harlem showed in its first month that it can divert some mental-health crises away from hospitalization and toward other forms of help. Teams of medics and social workers took about one-quarter of such calls, sometimes at NYPD invitation. They sent about half of the people in crisis to a hospital, significantly less often than the police do in such cases. The goal in replacing police is to avoid needless violence and arrests in non-violent, non-criminal emergencies.

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  • Eugene, Oregon, Police Chief: Sending Unarmed Crisis Specialists On Mental Health Calls Saves Lives

    July 22, 2021 |

    WBUR |

    Radio Talk Show |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    The police chief in Eugene, Ore., home of the CAHOOTS program, which other communities see as the model for finding alternatives to policing, supports the program because it saves lives and saves the city money. Sending unarmed medics and social workers on calls involving behavioral health problems, mental health crises, and substance-use psychotic episodes automatically de-escalates many situations because of the lack of a police presence.

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  • NYC's Non-Police Mental Health Pilot Increasing Rate of Those Getting Aid, Data Show

    July 22, 2021 |

    WNBC-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    Under 3 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    In its first month as a pilot project in a part of Harlem, New York's Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) handled one-quarter of 911 calls for mental health crises. Despite fears of danger to the teams of social workers and paramedics, police backup was needed only seven times out of 110 cases. More people accepted help from the non-police teams than in the past from teams of police and paramedics. And that help depended half as often on hospital visits. People got helped on the scene or went to community centers for services. The city plans to expand the program.

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  • Can ‘Bad Men' Ever Change?

    July 21, 2021 |

    The Cut |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

    Among the many restorative justice programs in the U.S., the Domestic Violence Safe Dialogue program was one of the few to arrange face-to-face dialogue between survivors and men who had violently abused women. This form of surrogate dialogue – the pairings are between strangers – helps two people who want to change but can't do it alone. After extensive preparation and led by a facilitator, the meeting gives survivors a way to hear they were not to blame for the harm done to them, and for the men to admit responsibility and help someone else in ways that traditional punitive justice often cannot.

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  • After 'painfully slow' start, restorative justice program tries to reset

    July 17, 2021 |

    Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Cheshire County, New Hampshire

    The Cheshire County Restorative Justice Program works to take low-level defendants, accused of things like shoplifting or alcohol violations out of court and into an alternative process, sparing them criminal records that would later weigh them down. The program’s goal is to push the legal system toward restorative justice, reimagining its traditional processes.

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  • What Do Police Know About Teenagers? Not Enough.

    July 17, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Lafayette, Indiana

    "Policing the teen brain" is a training regimen devised by Strategies for Youth that teaches police officers to de-escalate conflicts with adolescents to avoid unnecessary incarceration. Youth detention has dropped significantly since Tippecanoe County put most of its officers through the training. Police learn how to account for teens' lowered impulse control and undeveloped problem solving skills. The county decided to pay for the expensive training because detention, which hits Black youth hardest, can be even more costly – and leave lasting damage in the lives of young people.

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  • Many in Jail Can Vote, but Exercising That Right Isn't Easy

    July 16, 2021 |

    Stateline |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

    Chicago's Cook County Jail enabled 2,200 incarcerated people to vote in the November 2020 election by opening the jail to voter registration drives, civic lessons, distribution of voter education materials, two weekends of early voting, and four polling places inside the jail. Most people held in local jails nationwide are eligible to vote but usually don't, due to lack of awareness, intentional barriers, and logistical hassles. Cook County helped people exercise their rights and provided them with education to improve their reentry to society after prison.

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  • Key to disrupting Denver's homeless-to-jail pipeline? Permanent supportive housing, study finds.

    July 16, 2021 |

    Colorado Newsline |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

    Providing permanent housing with a menu of health and social services saved the city of Denver millions of dollars and stabilized the lives of hundreds of people. A three-year controlled experiment provided various services, including substance use and mental health treatment, to 724 people who had cycled in and out of jail and the streets. The half who were provided housing in addition to the services enjoyed far fewer arrests and emergency room visits. Most stayed in their provided housing and took greater advantage of routine health care. Social impact bonds financed the upfront costs.

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  • How Mental Health First Responders in an Oregon City 'De-escalate' Conflict and Save Lives

    July 15, 2021 |

    People |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Eugene, Oregon

    CAHOOTS has become a national model because of its uncommon partnership with the Eugene Police Department. The police chief says CAHOOTS' unarmed first responders to mental health crises can de-escalate crises before crimes occur or someone gets hurt. That's the idea behind the decades-old agency that takes calls where police can sometimes cause worse outcomes. The crisis intervention workers and medics treat people on the scene or transport them to places where they can get the help they need. Police are available but rarely needed for safety on those calls.

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  • Keeping People Out of Jail Keeps People Out of Jail

    July 12, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

    When prosecutors in Boston and Baltimore stopped prosecuting certain non-violent, minor offenses, crime of all sorts, from minor to violent, went down. Getting prosecuted and jailed can in itself increase the probability that people will get in more trouble. When their mistakes are not compounded by an arrest record that limits their job and housing prospects, they are apt to stay out of trouble. The prosecutors and research found that simply excluding cases of non-violent, minor drug possession, disorderly conduct, shoplifting from the system does not encourage more crime; probably the opposite.

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