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Digging Our Way Out of the Hole: The Safe Alternative to Solitary

Jeremiah Bourgeois

September 16, 2020 |

The Crime Report |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Washington

Washington's prison system cut by half the number of people held in solitary confinement by reducing its security system's reliance on the method and helping former solitary detainees transition back to the general population in a healthier way. But a formerly incarcerated journalist who spent more than seven of his 27 years in prison locked in solitary confinement says the state's disciplinary system is still rooted in an overly punitive approach to mostly petty offenses. A system based on positive incentives to good behavior exists in North Dakota prisons, modeled in part on Norway's approach.

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Unreasonable suspicion: When residents call police, who pays the price when bias shapes their concerns?

Natalie Yahr

September 16, 2020 |

The Cap Times |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Monona, Wisconsin

When the police got called to check on a "suspicious" Black man at the door of a house in a mostly white suburb of Madison, they held him at gun point until he convinced them he was there with the owner's permission. The resulting public outrage has turned into a search for solutions. While the city pays for a study of its policies and questions the adequacy of its implicit-bias training of police officers and 911 operators, neighborhood groups are working to educate residents about alternatives to calling police for all but the most serious threats to safety.

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The Non-Partisan “Pro-Voice” Abortion Space

Rikha Sharma Rani

September 15, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

An organization founded in Oakland, CA is bringing non-partisan abortion counseling to those who feel isolated by platforms that are designated as either pro-life or pro-choice. The goal of the organization, which is staffed with trained volunteers from across the country, is to help "people process their experiences around abortion without any preconceived notions about what that should look like."

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Policing the Police 2020

Jelani Cobb

September 15, 2020 |

PBS Frontline |

Documentary |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Newark, New Jersey

Revisiting Newark police reform six years after an earlier documentary, and after federal intervention, signs of progress provide hope in a year of unrest over police misconduct nationwide. Policies and training were overhauled, civilian oversight was imposed, albeit with limitations. Public trust edged up, and the police claim an increase in use-of-force incidents is due to better compliance with reporting requirements. Violence is down, with more use of community-based prevention instead of just policing. But the root causes of racial disparities remain, unable to be solved just by improving policing.

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Will the Special Investigative Unit decrease gun violence in Flint?

Amy Diaz

September 15, 2020 |

Flint Beat |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Flint, Michigan

In the first full month since it was created to take illegal guns off the street, Flint's Special Investigative Unit seized 64 firearms and made dozens of arrests. The unit's predictive policing approach relies on data that tell the police where gun crimes are concentrated. Critics contend that focusing enforcement on historically high-crime areas creates a feedback loop of racially disparate policing, in that more cops in a neighborhood means more arrests, which in turn invites more enforcement. Targeted gun enforcement has a mixed record of crime reductions and racial inequities.

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'It's like family': Swedish housing experiment designed to cure loneliness

Derek Robertson

September 15, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Sweden, Helsingborg

A multigenerational housing program in Sweden aims to combat social isolation of seniors and increase understanding between native Swedes and the young refugee population. About half of the 72 residents are over 70 and the rest are aged 18-25 from culturally diverse backgrounds. To live there, residents must agree to socialize for at least 2 hours a week. The coronavirus revealed a need to ensure all residents take precautions to protect the higher-risk seniors but is also revealed the strength of the relationships formed, where the younger residents helped run errands and care for their senior neighbors.

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Latinx 'promotores' lead the way for environmental action

Jeremy Cox

September 15, 2020 |

Bay Journal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Langley Park, Maryland

A leadership program in the Chesapeake Bay region gives members of the Latinx community to become change makers in the environmental movement. Since 2016, Chispa Maryland has produced more than 100 graduates from its “promotores” program, where they learn the basics of climate justice, advocacy, and community organizing. While the work is difficult and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected operations, the promotores have seen some success in organizing community gardens and lobbying the county to purchase electric school buses.

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The Mississippi Program That's Showing How Effective Direct Cash Transfers Can Be

Lauren Gill

September 14, 2020 |

The Appeal |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Mississippi

Families experiencing poverty have been given $1,000 each month in an effort to address the racial wealth gap through the Magnolia Mother's Trust program. The cash payments yield an increase of recipients who were able to earn their GEDs, cook fresh meals for their families, and meet all their basic needs. The payments began prior to the onset of the pandemic but have proven to be a crucial safety net.

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Spy planes provide modest help to Baltimore crime fight over three months, researchers find

Tim Prudente

September 11, 2020 |

The Baltimore Sun |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

After three months of a pilot project putting video-equipped planes in flight over Baltimore, police made arrests in 21% of the 81 cases in which video evidence was provided. The arrest rate is slightly greater than in the many more cases that were not aided by aerial video. But researchers and police have not concluded from the evidence that the project is effective enough to continue after its six-month, privately funded run. Civil liberties advocates have challenged use of the so-called spy planes, which the city hopes will help combat its high rate of homicides and other violent crimes.

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How South African activists hope to integrate cities built to divide

Ryan Lenora Brown

September 11, 2020 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: South Africa, Johannesburg

The South African government has provided free apartments to millions of people since the end of apartheid, in part as a way to address structural inequalities rooted in apartheid. The program has been a lifeline for many but has also exacerbated segregation because the housing is built just outside of cities, where Black, Asian, and mixed-race South Africans were once legally required to live. This creates new structural inequalities because it makes it harder to access good jobs, which tend to be in the city center. Advocates are now petitioning the government to build housing in the city center.

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