Tag: Criminal Justice Reform

Building Safe, Thriving Communities Research-Based Strategies for Public Safety

Decades of harsh, carceral law enforcement practices have perpetuated cycles of violence and harm without making us safer. The number of individuals behind bars—particularly for low-level offenses—is not a measure of public safety, and in fact has tremendous costs and consequences that detract from the goal of creating healthy, stable communities. Progress toward this goal requires transformational change in the way we approach law enforcement practices, specifically in the fields of policing, prosecution, and sentencing. We cannot continue to use incarceration as our default solution. All over the country, law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and lawmakers are reducing their reliance on enforcement and incarceration, and are instead implementing practices and policies that focus on reinvestment, research-based strategies, and community engagement.

The article can be access HERE

Incoming Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón Promises Criminal Justice Reform – KQED

Nearly 20 years ago George Gascon was the deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. This month he was elected as the city’s new district attorney overcoming fierce opposition from law enforcement groups. Gascon, the former district attorney and police chief of San Francisco, campaigned on a platform of criminal justice reform, including a promise to stop prosecuting children as adults, not seeking the death penalty and possibly reopening investigations into fatal shootings by police officers. We’ll talk to Gascon about his ideas for reform and his close election, defeating LA’s first Black district attorney partly by galvanizing the support of Black Lives Matter activists.
— Read on www.kqed.org/forum/2010101880966/incoming-los-angeles-district-attorney-george-gascon-promises-criminal-justice-reform

Don’t bring back broken windows: Manhattan DA Cy Vance argues against ratcheting back up prosecutions for smaller offenses – New York Daily News

Over the past decade, New York City authored a remarkable public safety success story that saved thousands of lives, transformed the safety of communities across the five boroughs, and overturned false narratives about the efficacy of broken windows policing. As America’s safest big city, we proved that significant reductions in violent crime could be achieved without unconstitutional stop-and-frisk tactics or unnecessary prosecutions of low-level non-violent offenses, both of which disproportionately harmed our Black and Latino communities.
— Read on www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-dont-bring-back-broken-windows-20200824-zblyi4rr7nfjlmosswwbeeb4de-story.html

Cambridge publishes juvenile diversion manual for municipalities

The newly published “Police-Based Juvenile Diversion” manual is based on the Safety Net Collaborative, which is a partnership between the Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Public Schools, Cambridge Health Alliance and the Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs that was initially established in 2007. Together, these organizations provide health, mental health and social services to youth and families in Cambridge with the goal of curtailing youth involvement in the juvenile justice system and connecting them to services before issues escalate to potential delinquency
— Read on cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20200619/strongcambridge-publishes-juvenile-diversion-manual-for-municipalitiesstrong

New York’s Latest Bail Law Changes Explained

Bail will be an option for more crimes, but the heart of the law remains intact.

New York’s new bail reform law had been in effect for a mere three months when the state legislature amended it in early April. The most significant change is that there are more situations where judges can impose cash bail. They will also have more discretion in setting bail and other conditions of pretrial release. The updates go into effect on July 1.  See  more HERE