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This Anti-Violence Program Has Been Proven to Cut Crime. Can It Work in Baltimore?

J. Brian Charles

February 21, 2018 |

Governing |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Massachusetts

Massachusetts' Roca program uses five sites in the state to teach young men in their late teens and early 20s coping strategies to solve personal problems and change their behavior. The program targets men with previous criminal problems who actively resist other services and therapy, and who are deemed at high risk of violence. More than 80 percent of its graduates, who number more than 850 per year, have no new arrests, and two-thirds hold jobs six months after finishing the program. Seeing this success, Baltimore has committed $17 million in private and public funds to open a Roca chapter.

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A Year of Bail Reform in New Jersey

Brian Lehrer

February 21, 2018 |

WNYC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

As New Jersey continues to reform its cash bail system, other states in the region look to it as an example. The state developed an algorithm called the Public Safety Assessment that considers an individual’s likeliness to appear for their court date and whether they pose a risk of committing another crime and presents these findings and corresponding recommendations to a judge. Since the reforms have been in place, the state has seen a 20% decrease in the pre-trial jail population and an overall decrease in crime.

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At crossroads of policing and murder, a long push for accountability

Harry Bruinius

February 15, 2018 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Criticism and protests led by community activists in NY led to wide scale changes in NYPD’s policing, it resulted in a large decrease at the unequal way the NYPD racially profiled black and latino men. Many of this activism was led by the mothers of young black men killed at the hands of NYPD. In Baltimore, mothers are also coalescing around the same issue, but they’re taking a different approach.

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PASCEP workshop teaches life skills after incarceration

Ayooluwa Ariyo

February 13, 2018 |

The Temple News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In Philadelphia, a former attorney who was incarcerated for embezzlement founded the National Workforce Opportunity Network. The program has partnered with Temple University to provide services and job training for the recently incarcerated.

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Norway: Recidivism Rates

Fi Glover Henrietta Moore Martha Lane Fox

January 30, 2018 |

BBC |

Radio |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: Norway

Prisons in Norway are designed to simulate life on the outside. Inmates are encouraged to work and get an education, and officers chat and do activities alongside them. Norway spends a lot of money per prisoner, but the system seems to contribute to the country’s low recidivism rates.

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Domestic Violence court offers alternatives, hope for future

Elizabeth M. Miller

January 22, 2018 |

New Mexico In Depth |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Albuquerque, New Mexico

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a domestic violence court offers funnels perpetrators into programs that offer counseling and other services to address the root causes of their behavior. Its two tracks focus on first-time offenders to short-circuit any escalation into chronic abuse, as well as those with multiple domestic violence charges. Judges work closely with participants to encourage them and call them out when they aren't meeting their obligations, and recidivism rates among those who complete the programs are far lower than those who do not.

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Redemption for Offenders and Victims

Lara Bazelon

January 17, 2018 |

The American Prospect |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

In Boston federal courts, select criminal defendants can participate in a restorative justice program called RISE (Repair, Invest, Succeed, Emerge) that delays sentencing while defendants engage in dialogue with crime victims, family, and others. The restorative dialogues are designed for a type of accountability unlike a prison sentence. Eligible defendants must admit their crime, have a history of addiction or other deprivation, and get jobs or attend school. By addressing the harms they have inflicted and the obligations they have to make things right, defendants can earn a more lenient sentence.

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Giving Building Materials and Ex-Inmates a Second Chance in Baltimore

Johnny Magdaleno

January 13, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

Ex-offenders who get re-entry training and job opportunities are significantly less likely to wind up back in jail. A manufacturer called Brick + Board in east Baltimore hires employees with histories of incarceration. The company helps ex-offenders while also giving construction materials a second life in new projects.

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What Can New York Learn from New Jersey's Bail Reform?

Beth Fertig

January 04, 2018 |

WNYC |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

In 2017, New Jersey eliminated the cash bail system – meaning that potential offenders awaiting court could not be held in jail for money. Instead, judges use an algorithm that considers the individual’s criminal history, flight risk, and threat level to the community. As New York considers doing the same, it looks the impact it has made in New Jersey.

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How Texas' Harris County went from ‘capital of capital punishment' to zero executions

Henry Gass

December 27, 2017 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

In 2017, Harris County, TX saw a year where no one was sentenced to death and no one was executed. The county, nicknamed as the capital of capital punishment, is seeing a shift in the support of the death penalty. While studies haven’t shown a definitive answer, it has been linked to new, reform-focused DAs, the introduction of life sentences without parole, and Supreme Court decisions that likely diminished the use of capital punishment.

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