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Juvenile justice advocates: Let's ‘Raise the Age' again

The Connecticut Mirror

Kelan Lyons

10 February 2020

Connecticut, United States

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800-1500 Words

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Since 2007, Connecticut has taken major steps in juvenile justice reform – namely, the ages that youth are arrested or charged as adults. By moving 16 and 17 year olds out of the adult system and into the juvenile jus...

How Philadelphia Flipped: Second Chances for Youth

YR Media

Zari Tarazona

8 January 2020

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Multi-Media

800-1500 Words

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Philadelphia has made a concerted effort toward reducing the number of youth being arrested in schools. Leadership, including the school police commissioner and district attorney, changed procedures so that youth, ins...

Marketing Psychiatric Drugs to Jailers and Judges

The Atlantic

Max Blau

HUB MEMBER

31 December 2019

Washington, United States

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Over 3000 Words

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Drug companies that market long-lasting psychiatric drugs have found new clientele in courtrooms and prisons, as a means to treat mental health issues for those that have been incarcerated. Although the practice of ta...

Boone County Drug Court addresses racial disparities and trauma through grant

Columbia Missourian

Sarah Haselhorst

HUB MEMBER

17 December 2019

Columbia, Missouri, United States

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In Boone County, Missouri the Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) program offers young men an alternative to incarceration for drug-related offenses. The program works primarily with black men, many...

Why are there so few prisoners in the Netherlands?

The Guardian

Senay Boztas

12 December 2019

Netherlands

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800-1500 Words

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Providing care to individuals with psychiatric problems reduces the need for incarceration. With the help of a psychological rehabilitation program known as TBS, the Netherlands has shut entire prisons following a dec...

On One Issue, Americans Are United. Too Many Are Behind Bars.

The New York Times

Tina Rosenberg

HUB MEMBER

30 October 2019

Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, United States

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In such a divided country, many groups from lawmakers to advocacy groups are finding rare bipartisan cooperation around the issue of criminal justice reform. Two congressional representatives, one Republican and one D...

A Decade Of Diversion: Franklin County's Court For Addiction Recovery

WOSU

Paige Pfleger

26 September 2019

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Multi-Media

3-5 Minutes

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Merging accountability with treatment promotes recovery for those charged with drug possession. In Franklin County, Ohio, the municipal court system operates a program called Helping Achieve Recovery Together. The cou...

New York providers credit ‘aftercare' for helping youths transition home

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Allison Dikanovic

HUB MEMBER

16 September 2019

New York City, New York, United States

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1500-3000 Words

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New York has taken great strides in reforming their juvenile justice system, and key to that has been ensuring that those in the system receive ongoing support once they return to their communities. Organizations like...

New York juvenile justice program stresses ‘safety by relationships'

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Allison Dikanovic

HUB MEMBER

11 September 2019

New York City, New York, United States

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In New York City, the Close to Home initiative is taking a different approach to juvenile justice by centering it around a localized, residential, and rehabilitative model. These facilities operate out of traditional-...

How New York and Milwaukee approach juvenile justice

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Allison Dikanovic

HUB MEMBER

9 September 2019

New York City, New York, United States

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1500-3000 Words

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New York’s Close to Home legislation approaches the juvenile justice system through the lens of rehabilitation, moving those in up-state juvenile facilities to local, sometimes residential housing that emphasizes fami...

KCPD CIT provides alternative to jail for mentally ill

KSHB-TV

Kevin Holmes

26 July 2019

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

Multi-Media

Under 3 Minutes

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Kansas City’s Police Department has created a Crisis Intervention Unit with the goal of broadening their outreach and engagement with individuals with mental illnesses. Rather than send them through the criminal justi...

How Norway turns criminals into good neighbours

BBC

Emma Jane Kirby

7 July 2019

Halden, Norway

Multi-Media

1500-3000 Words

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Norway’s Halden Prison is taking a different approach to incarceration: emphasizing rehabilitation over punishment, which has led to a 20% decrease in recidivism in just two years. Over the past two decades, the count...

Portugal, drugs and decriminalisation

BBC

Kathleen Hawkins

Hannah McNeish

18 June 2019

Portugal

Radio

Over 15 Minutes

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In 2001, facing a 20-year opioid epidemic, Portugal decriminalized all personal drug use, meaning people carrying drugs for personal use could no longer face prosecution or jail. The approach, met with public support,...

Gun violence has sharply declined in California's Bay Area. What happened?

The Guardian

Lois Beckett

Darwin BondGraham

Peter Andringa

Abene Clayton

4 June 2019

San Francisco, California, United States

Multi-Media

1500-3000 Words

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California’s Bay Area has seen a 30% decrease in gun homicides, despite increasing economic inequality. The region has had many interventions to reach this decline, but the key to all of them is their community-driven...

How a new district attorney is shaking up the justice system in midcoast Maine

Bangor Daily News

Beth Brogan

28 May 2019

Knox, Maine, United States

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The newly-elected district attorney in Maine, Natasha Irving, has started implementing restorative justice practices into the area’s criminal justice system. The use of restorative justice in this case includes offeri...

Piece of the Puzzle: Drug Courts Expand Across State

New Hampshire Bar News

Anna Berry

HUB MEMBER

17 April 2019

Concord, New Hampshire, United States

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The New Hampshire Drug Court system – helping individuals find rehabilitation rather than prison – has proven to be a success and expanded to counties across the state. The court follows best practices from the Nation...

Graffiti punished by reading - 'It worked!' says prosecutor

BBC

Emma Jane Kirby

16 April 2019

Ashburn, Virginia, United States

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800-1500 Words

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After graffitiing a historic landmark with swastikas and racist phrases, a juvenile prosecutor chose to educate rather than punish the perpetrators. Each teen was given a list of 35 books that covered topics like race...

Native justice: How tribal values shape Judge Abby's court

The Christian Science Monitor

Henry Gass

27 March 2019

Klamath, California, United States

Multi-Media

Over 3000 Words

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Across the country, tribal courts are seeking to break the cycle of recidivism and instead focus their efforts on rehabilitation and community. Judge Abinanti’s Yurok Tribal Court in California applies traditional Yur...

‘Scrap it, start fresh, and think:' What Milwaukee can learn from New York City on housing young offenders

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service

Allison Dikanovic

HUB MEMBER

6 March 2019

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States

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1500-3000 Words

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As Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County seeks to transform how it handles young offenders, it looks to New York City as a model for change. In New York, the city has shifted its focus from large, state-run facilities to commu...

Australia is building community alternatives to prisons — they work

Apolitical

Lorana Bartels

22 February 2019

Australia

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800-1500 Words

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With their national imprisonment rate on the rise, Australia is pivoting to a justice reinvestment strategy that diverts money towards "early intervention, prevention and diversion." Although this has yet to be implem...

Denver Program Aims To Divert Low-Level Drug, Prostitution Offenders Away From Jail

Colorado Public Radio

Natalia Navarro

19 February 2019

Denver, Colorado, United States

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Under 800 Words

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In Colorado, four communities are piloting a program that offers low-level drug or prostitution offenders an alternative to prison. This program, known as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, matches the offender with ...

Special Courts for Veterans Languish

The Marshall Project

Joseph Darius Jaafari

19 February 2019

Washington, D.C., United States

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Veterans treatment courts were developed in 2008 as a way for veterans to receive mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment rather than face incarceration. Created to address the mental health concerns th...

Is It Time for Courts to Stop Charging Bail?

OZY

Nick Fouriezos

31 January 2019

New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

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Despite not yet charged with a crime, many of those incarcerated are in jail because they can't afford a cash bail. Criminal justice reformers are working to change that by both posting bail for those that cannot affo...

How One County Became a Lab for California's Prison Reform

The Marshall Project

Abbie Vansickle

Manuel Villa

21 December 2018

California, United States

Multi-Media

1500-3000 Words

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After San Joaquin County adopted a slew of criminal justice reforms, crime dropped by 20 percent, the lowest number in a decade. One of the things that was implemented were speciality courts aimed at decreasing arrest...

Why more states are giving juvenile offenders a second chance

The Christian Science Monitor

John Colin Marston

10 December 2018

United States

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Many states are rolling back the punitive measures against youth who committed crimes that began in the 1980s and 1990s. After the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional, ...

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