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  • America Is the World Leader in Locking People Up. One City Found a Fix

    August 29, 2023 |

    Bloomberg |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    New York City’s supervised release system allows people who would be incarcerated before their trial to instead stay out of jail and have scheduled check-ins with nonprofit caseworkers. The caseworkers help meet their needs while they await the trial, which includes a range of support from providing food to receiving mental health support to helping them remain employed and housed.

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  • Metro Phoenix cities turn to homeless courts to help people navigate the justice system

    June 03, 2022 |

    AZ Central (The Arizona Republic) |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Mesa, Arizona

    When people experiencing homelessness in Mesa, Ariz. are charged with low-level offenses such as trespassing or public intoxication, they have the option to participate in community court to get their case dismissed if they agree to seek help from government programs and services. Participants are assigned a "navigator" to help them obtain required identification documents, search for housing, or apply for jobs, and more than 90% of those who graduated from community court in 2021 have not ended up back in the legal system.

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  • Restorative justice solutions for youth are growing abroad, can they become part of the mix in the U.S.

    March 24, 2022 |

    North Carolina Health News |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Italy

    As North Carolina reevaluates its approach to juvenile justice, the state is looking to examples like Italy, where restorative justice practices such as victim-offender mediation, in which the victim and perpetrator of a crime meet with a mediator to discuss and reconstruct the incident, play a critical role in cases involving youth. The country incarcerates fewer children and young adults on a given day than North Carolina despite its population being roughly six times the size of the state's.

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  • How a Two-Way Text Messaging System Keeps People Out of Jail

    February 11, 2022 |

    The Crime Report |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

    An app is simplifying communication within the legal system. People on probation, probation officers, and public defenders can all see appointments, check-ins, and course loads. Uptrust helps prevent violations by providing an easy way to organize court dates, tests, and to facilitate check-ins. The application also helps clients search for social services nearby.

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  • ‘Something major': Wake DA partners with nonprofits to clear people's arrest warrants

    December 11, 2021 |

    The News & Observer |

    Text |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Raleigh, North Carolina

    The Wake County district attorney worked with criminal-justice reform groups to hold a "warrant clinic" where people could apply to void arrest warrants that could land them in jail, with all of the financial and social costs that come with that. About 45 of 160 applicants were approved in the process, which comes with multiple conditions limiting eligibility to people facing relatively minor charges who missed court dates or had similar reasons for getting named in a warrant. The organizers hope to continue the practice, which also saves the county money.

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  • The Judge Who Keeps People Out of Jail

    November 30, 2021 |

    The Washington Post Magazine |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Rio Arriba, New Mexico

    Since 2018, Judge Jason Lidyard of Rio Arriba County, N.M., has forged a new model for a drug court. Instead of demanding abstinence from drugs as the price to stay out of jail, Lidyard uses respect and personal relationships to seek a redefinition of success: making substance abuse less deadly and less socially crippling. Violating the court's requirements to get treatment results in more help, not jail. The less punitive approach seemed to reduce overdoses until a new fentanyl surge complicated the picture. Almost all of the people who've gone through the court have avoided new felony arrests.

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  • Reducing Recidivism and Building Green Industry Skills in Detroit

    September 10, 2021 |

    Belt Magazine |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Michigan

    Between 2012 and 2017, the rate of recidivism, the number of people who return to prison after being released, was 71 percent across 34 states. An industrial recycling program called Greenworks is aimed at job training, access to resources, and jobs to formerly incarcerated people. Part of the green economy, these programs offer jobs to people most impacted by climate change, and Greenworks could be a model for other similar programs. The recidivism rate of Greenworks hovers around four and ten percent each year.

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  • Eagle County problem-solving courts offer new hope to repeat offenders battling substance abuse

    September 09, 2021 |

    Vail Daily |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Eagle, Colorado

    Eagle County's two problem-solving courts put treatment ahead of punishment when addressing crimes committed by people with substance abuse problems. Originally set up as one court, they now function separately to address drunken driving and drugs and serve people "teetering on the edge of serious prison time" for repeat offenses. More than 90 percent of participants in 2020 maintained sobriety and more than 80 percent avoided new legal troubles. While the threat of punishment is used to win compliance with rules, prosecutors say they're more interested in permanently curing the underlying disease.

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  • The Path Forward: Decriminalizing addiction through diversion

    July 29, 2021 |

    Las Vegas Optic |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Alamosa, Colorado

    In Alamosa County, law enforcement officers who believe drug abuse is at the root of a person's criminal behavior can refer that person to treatment and other services, rather than arresting and jailing them. The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program, used in multiple places around the country, has helped the county jail fewer people and send more into treatment. It also has caused a large drop in arrest warrants, because case workers help people make their appointments in court and elsewhere. Now, San Miguel County, N.M., is working to adopt LEAD, though it needs more treatment facilities.

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  • Keeping People Out of Jail Keeps People Out of Jail

    July 12, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

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    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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