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Punished for Being Poor

Maura Ewing

September 03, 2015 |

Pacific Standard |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

When paying bail isn't a realistic ask of a defendant, many times the person will plead guilty to avoid jail time even if it means having a record. To solve the problem of the poor being unfairly punished by small crimes through the setting of a bail amount they can't make, The Bronx Freedom Fund offers charitable bail funds to those with a bail under $2,000.

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A Simple Fix for Drunken Driving

Keith Humphreys

August 14, 2015 |

Wall Street Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, South Dakota

South Dakota’s “24/7 Sobriety” initiative breathalyzers tens of thousands of people every day in an effort to curb drunk driving. Rather than legislation that takes penalizes offenders by taking away their license, the state addresses the behavioral issue instead. In counties that use the “24/7 Sobriety,” they’ve seen a 12% decrease in repeat drunken-driving arrests.

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How to Cut the Prison Population (See for Yourself)

Erik Eckholm

August 11, 2015 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Prisons in the United States are overcrowded with many non-violent offenders and the cost to keep them in jail consumes public budgets. Criminal justice reform has attracted bipartisan interest with diverse proposals to aid adjust the incarceration rate. The Urban Institute has developed an interactive “prison population forecaster,” which helps citizens to assess the impact of different policies.

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Oakland probation camp offers Freedom School to young detainees

Jill Tucker

August 05, 2015 |

San Francisco Chronicle |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Leandro, California

Freedom Summer Camp allows for convicted young men to find a sense of community allowing them to connect to the world and fuel greater desires for achievement.

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Eliminating Bail for Nonviolent Crimes

Emma Eisenberg

August 05, 2015 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Philadelphia's criminal justice system is overwhelmed. New York is allowing judges to release low-risk defendants accused of non-violent crimes with the goal of saving money, reducing prison overcrowding, and cutting down on prison violence.

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Putting Fewer Innocents Behind Bars

Tina Rosenberg

July 03, 2015 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Pre-trial detention for non-risk offenders has proven to be socially harmful, costly, and actually increases the crime rate. The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative is a national program that aims to decrease pre-trial detentions based upon individual merit, and provides ways that a newly released offender can be surveilled, have mentoring, and receive treatment for mental health or substance abuse. The initiative has effectively helped to keep low-level offenders out of jail.

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Everything you think you know about disciplining kids is wrong

Katherine Reynolds Lewis

July 01, 2015 |

Mother Jones |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, South Berwick, Maine

Disciplining schoolchildren has led many students down the “school-to-prison-pipeline” because teachers have focused on controlling students rather than instilling problem solving skills. Ross Greene has developed Collaborative Proactive Solutions (CPS), which is a method that trains staff at schools to develop relationships with disruptive kids and help them problem solve. With the CPS method in practice in 2012, Central School has reported fewer students sent to the principal’s office and no suspensions.

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The ‘win-win-win' Tompkins could use to help jailed veterans

Melissa Whitworth

June 30, 2015 |

The Ithaca Voice |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Buffalo, New York

Over 220 Veterans Treatment Courts have been created across the United States, each of which helps provide services like rehabilitation and support groups instead of jail time to veterans. Courts in Ithaca, New York are thinking about implementing such programs and are looking to places like Buffalo, which has seen a decreased recidivism rate to just five percent.

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The simple idea that could transform US criminal justice

Tina Rosenberg

June 23, 2015 |

The Guardian |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

In the courtroom known as Part Two, at the Newark Municipal Courthouse, Judge Victoria Pratt is pioneering the procedural justice approach, and is getting results. The idea, now central to conversations around reform of the US criminal justice system, is simple: "people are far more likely to obey the law if the justice system does not humiliate them, but treats them fairly and with respect."

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Texas study may aid juvenile justice reforms

Sylvan Lane

June 22, 2015 |

Dallas Morning News |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Dallas, Texas

An in-depth study of Texas youth crime records helped them find a path forward on juvenile criminal justice reform, but they still struggle with limited resources and a culture stuck on incarceration.

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