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

Robin Young Allison Hagan

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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Can ‘Bad Men' Ever Change?

Amelia Schonbek

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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What Do Police Know About Teenagers? Not Enough.

Meryl Davids Landau

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

Paul Cuno-Booth

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

Moe Clark

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

Matt Vasilogambros

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

Jeff Truesdell

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

David Byrne

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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Some youth avoid detention and rehabilitate at Central Oregon ranch

Dave Miller Allison Frost

July 09, 2021 |

Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

Radio Talk Show |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Bend, Oregon

Youth in Oregon who get court-ordered rehabilitation as an alternative to youth detention might end up at the J Bar J Ranch, which despite its name is less a working ranch than a boarding school with individual counseling aimed at helping troubled young people change themselves. Success takes many forms – high school diplomas, reconnecting with family, setting and meeting personal goals – but first the youth must earn a place at the ranch, which can only take 28 at a time.

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The ‘prison' with no fence: Go inside a Charlotte women's center changing lives for good

Devna Bose

July 08, 2021 |

The Charlotte Observer |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte's Center for Women uses a rehabilitative approach to incarceration, letting up to 30 women at a time live in a group home that provides both therapy and connections to employment. Women with one to three years left on their sentences can apply for a spot in the residential work-release program. They and their families – most are mothers – get the counseling they need to adjust to a better life once the residents get released. The women say the small freedoms they are granted in the home, plus the respect and help they get, do for them what prison never could in changing lives.

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