Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1320 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • In a roiled Minneapolis, schools are testing new model for safety

    April 20, 2021 |

    The Christian Science Monitor |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Washburn High School in Minneapolis is taking a different approach for in-school safety, one that doesn't rely on a police presence. The school district ended its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department and replaces School Resource Officers with civilian safety specialists, who are not uniformed, armed, and have no power of arrest. Instead, the specialists provide more community-centered services to visiting students who were disconnected, aiding with food distribution, and evaluate school safety plans.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Restorative Justice Part 2: "There is no Champion”

    April 20, 2021 |

    Granite State News Collaborative |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

    In some New Hampshire counties, diversion programs give some people charged with generally low-level crimes the opportunity to make amends, get treatment for underlying problems, and move on in life without a criminal record. While data are spotty, one county showed that people who went through its program committed fewer offenses afterward. But a lack of statewide standards and funding means that such opportunities are not available uniformly.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Berke attributes Chattanooga's drop in gang violence to Violence Reduction Initiative

    April 19, 2021 |

    Chattanooga Times Free Press |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Seven years after the creation of Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative, gang violence in the city is down by two-thirds even while other types of gun violence have increased. The program uses an approach called focused deterrence to target people suspected of being at highest risk of committing violence, offering them social services if they stop the violence. It got off to a slow start and has encountered numerous obstacles. But, while no formal evaluation proves that the initiative caused gang violence to decline, city officials believe that the correlation is no coincidence.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Meet the scientists building a prison-to-STEM pipeline

    April 19, 2021 |

    PBS NOVA |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Restorative Justice in Indian Country

    April 16, 2021 |

    Dissent Magazine |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

    Like standard drug courts, the Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court refers people facing drug-related criminal charges to substance abuse counseling as an alternative to punishment. But this court and other tribal wellness courts are steeped in indigenous customs, blended with restorative justice approaches, to emphasize rehabilitation based on trust, support, and native traditions. The threat of punishment looms over participants should they fail in their counseling program. But no one has been jailed in the past two years in the Penobscot program.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Las Vegas's Traffic School for Pedestrians

    April 16, 2021 |

    Next City |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Las Vegas, Nevada

    In Las Vegas, pedestrians and drivers ticketed for unsafe behavior can get their fines voided by taking a three-hour class called PedSAFE. More than 2,800 people have taken the class and, say its sponsors from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, graduate with a better understanding of how to keep pedestrians safe on Las Vegas' wide, pedestrian-unfriendly streets. While helpful, the program does not address more long-lasting fixes, such as ending racially inequitable jaywalking enforcement and designing safer streets.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Charlotte is taking a new approach to drug cases. It could change lives.

    April 13, 2021 |

    The Charlotte Observer |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

    The Mecklenburg County district attorney stopped prosecuting non-violent, low-level drug cases to free up resources to handle a backlog of more serious cases that built up during the pandemic. The policy had the effect of freeing people from the permanent stain of a criminal conviction and offering them drug treatment as an alternative to punishment.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • In the wake of hate, the law is not always enough

    April 11, 2021 |

    Concord Monitor |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Dover, New Hampshire

    Hate crime laws apply to a narrow range of conduct, and often fail as a response to bias incidents that constitute hate speech but are not in themselves a crime. When high school students working on a history class project produced a video with a song treating the KKK and racist murders as a joke, the school and community responded not with prosecutions but with community dialogues to air differences of opinion about the incident. Students of color then formed a group, Project D.R.E.A.M., that expanded the conversations to the entire school, educating a mainly white community about the impact of racism.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Inside stories

    April 05, 2021 |

    Columbia Journalism Review |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

    The Empowerment Avenue Writer's Cohort pairs incarcerated writers with volunteer journalists on the outside who mentor, edit, and help the writers pitch their stories to publications. By publishing more incarcerated writers' viewpoints and first-hand reporting, and by getting those writers paid for their work, the project better informs the public about experiences inside prisons, gives free-world journalists more inside sources, and helps set up incarcerated writers for a career once they are free.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • There's a new approach to police response to mental health emergencies. Taking the police out of it

    April 02, 2021 |

    CNN |

    Broadcast TV News |

    5-15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

    San Francisco's Street Crisis Response Team replaces or aids police officers in responding to calls about people in nonviolent behavioral health crises. A collaboration of the city's fire and health departments, the program puts three-person teams – social workers, paramedics, and peer counselors – on patrol to respond to calls or to look for people in crisis. The $4 million pilot project has taken 800 calls in its first four months, connecting people to the care they need without the violence that can occur when police are first responders. The city hopes to expand its hours to 24/7 soon.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

Go to All Solutions in Focus