Carrot and stick approach gives offenders a choice

The rampant opioid epidemic tearing through communities across the United States is exacerbated by a rigid court system that fails to address individual needs and a severe lack of comprehensive treatment options, even for those who want to get clean. Family Treatment Court, like the one in Chautauqua County, N.Y., provides parents who are addicts an innovative intervention program that includes a broad range of custom-tailored services to permanently quit their drug use and keep their families together.

In Texas, Mass-Incarceration is becoming a surprising hub of bi-partisan reform. By finding common ground, and brainstorming new solutions and alternatives to mass incarceration, the state has seen a drop in incarceration and crime rates.

Chicago plans to open a community court for young adult offenders that focuses on rehabilitative services and community support, giving them a chance to make reparations to victims and avoid a criminal record that can jeopardize opportunities for the rest of their lives. Part 3 of 3.

Restorative justice, a process that originated in New Zealand, aims to repair damaged relationships rather than merely meting out punishment. It can be far more demanding than a traditional route through court, but for juvenile offenders like those in King County, who are statistically likely to get stuck in a cycle of crime after a first prison sentence, the alternative to incarceration may provide a constructive path forward.

Some local programs see youth employment as more than just a workforce development issue. They also view jobs as a way to offer stability to young people, especially those from Cleveland area communities with high violence rates. The research bears them out. These are the voices of some of the voices speaking in favor of more jobs and less violence.

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.

Jailing convicted criminals has shown that it neither changes illegal behavior, nor reduces the rate of re-incarceration. Brooklyn’s Red Hood Community Justice Center has given many guilty defendants of minor crimes treatment and individual assistance without incarceration. A new survey shows that community courts reduce costs, decrease jailed inmates, and drop the crime rate.

The Fringe coffee shop in Hamilton, Ohio, employs people who were formerly incarcerated as part of a re-entry program. The shop owners work with each employee to create a re-entry plan that can include things like therapy, addiction and recovery meetings, tutoring and education, and even free tattoo removal.

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, states are shifting their attention from incarceration to community based care and prison alternatives. Missouri, which has led the country in “community based alternatives” for youth, has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the country.

An initiative that aims to keep troubled former criminals from continuing down the same path is technically called group violence intervention, but most know it as the Boston miracle. Piloted in the 90s, this style of intervention has shown so much success in reducing shooting rates that it has began scaling to European countries.