Here's a radical idea that will change policing, transform prisons and reduce crime: treat criminals like human beings

Rutger Bregman

July 31, 2020 |

The Correspondent |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Norway

Comparing Norway's and the United States' approaches to prisons and policing puts the lie to the American notion that being tough and unrelentingly punitive effectively addresses crime. In Norway, even people imprisoned for violent crimes, in maximum-security prisons, are treated with respect and kindness, with privileges that would be unthinkable in most American prisons. The results are telling: Norway's recidivism rate, the lowest in the world, is less than one-third of the U.S. rate. While prison costs are far higher per capita, the ultimate costs in lower crime make the Norwegian approach affordable.

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How Urban Planning Keeps Cities Segregated—and Maintains White Supremacy

Julian Agyeman

July 31, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Urban planning policies can lead to greater racial segregation, sometimes intentionally. While older policies could be explicitly racist, today policies such as zoning, which designates land for residential or industrial use, effectively excludes communities of color, immigrants, and households with lower incomes. Residential segregation leads to education, income, and health disparities. Minneapolis ended single-family zoning so lots can be converted to more affordable duplexes and triplexes and is working towards requiring new apartment projects to reserve units for low- to moderate-income households.

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Want More Housing? Ending Single-Family Zoning Won't Do It.

Emily Hamilton

July 29, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Abolishing single-family zoning rules as an affordable-housing solution has failed in places such as Minneapolis and Oregon because their narrowly drawn reforms left other obstacles in place. Houston serves as an example of effective policies that promote "missing middle" housing – denser developments than detached houses – because it combined its lack of single-family zoning with a reduction in minimum lots sizes. The result is far more affordable housing than in other booming job markets. Lot-size restrictions are among several other rules that can frustrate the desire for more housing.

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The Coronavirus Is Blowing Up Our Best Response to the Opioid Crisis

Zachary Siegel

July 29, 2020 |

The New Republic |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Midland, Michigan

The coronavirus pandemic has correlated with an increase in overdose deaths in the United States, likely due to people going against one of the "central tenets of safety when using drugs: Never use alone" as well as governments' longstanding stigma against allowing supervised consumption sites. To overcome this, a harm reduction service in Midland, Michigan is connecting volunteer operators with "people who have no choice but to use alone" via telephone as a means to offer help if something goes wrong.

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The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence

Jessica Pishko

July 28, 2020 |

The Appeal |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Criminalizing domestic violence was considered a feminist-inspired advance for crime victims, but making arrests and prosecution the main responses to the problem has backfired in many ways. With funding and attention focused on punishment, other services for victims have been neglected. And expecting victims will aid in a prosecution, even jailing them for refusing, can ignore the rational choices many victims make for non-cooperation, based on their desire for safety, financial and housing security, to avoid maltreatment by police, and other reasons that point toward more promising responses.

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Giving Police Departments Money to Buy Body Cameras Will Never End Brutality

Tyler Hicks

July 26, 2020 |

Truthout |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milford, Delaware

Body-worn cameras gained popularity as a potential check on police brutality, but for them to fulfill that purpose, numerous changes in typical public policies are needed, starting with public access to videos and independent oversight of camera policies. Research is inconclusive about whether cameras have changed police conduct, but they have discouraged citizen complaints about police. Other changes that could improve the use of cameras as a police-reform tool include constraining officers' discretion to record and better automated review of reams of stored data.

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These Elite Contact Tracers Show the World How to Beat Covid-19

Heesu Lee

July 25, 2020 |

Bloomberg |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Korea

After a coronavirus flareup that killed nearly 300, South Korean public health authorities used rigorous contact tracing investigations to prevent a second wave of illnesses. As of July 2020, the country’s new cases had plateaued for two months at less than 10% of their February levels, and only 8% of new cases came from unknown origins, a much lower rate than most other countries. The country’s Immediate Response Team’s work has allowed the nation to avoid disruptive shutdowns by aggressively targeting dangerous hot spots before they spread.

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Wisconsin's April primary was a mess. Here are five changes officials hope will make the next election smoother.

Patricia McKnight

July 23, 2020 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

Wisconsin officials learned important lessons from the problematic primary election. Moving forward, an informational mailer is being sent to educate voters about absentee voting and an absentee ballot request form will be automatically sent to 2.7 million registered voters. Ballots will be tracked using an intelligent barcode and more ballots will be ready to be sent out ahead of time to meet increased demand. Voters will need to provide contact information on their ballots so that clerks can contact them in case of any errors and more polling places will open to reduce long lines and wait times.

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A national forewarning: Wisconsin's high absentee volume and ballot errors

Dee J. Hall Tom Scheck Geoff Hing

July 23, 2020 |

APM Reports |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Wisconsin

Wisconsin officials are using lessons from the failures of the April 2020 primary, where many mail-in ballots were rejected based on technicalities such as missing a witness signature or address, to make changes in the general election. Since the law doesn’t require officials to notify voters so they can fix the mistakes, they adapted a computer system to process absentee ballot applications so clerks have more time to focus on other voting related issues and they will use barcodes to track ballots. But issues such as missing signatures or addresses will still lead to rejected ballots without recourse.

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The Temporary Battle Against COVID-19 Taught This N.C. Native Community How to Combat a Longstanding Epidemic

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

July 22, 2020 |

100 Days in Appalachia |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Cherokee, North Carolina

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reacted to COVID-19 with aggressive measures that yielded fewer illnesses than in neighboring counties, and no deaths, all without outside help. But one of their preventive measures – roadblocks severely limiting access to the Qualla Boundary, the band's territory – led to a surge in overdose deaths from fentanyl-laced heroin, because drug dealers responded with fewer shipments of more potent drugs. Overdoses eventually subsided with the roadblock lifted. The unintended consequence taught lessons about self-governance and unseen risks from within, not just from outside.

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