The Human Cost: Five Podcast Episodes on Rikers Island
With the launch of the Lippman Commission 2.0, New York City has taken a decisive step towards closing Rikers Island. Much is at stake, first and foremost the lives of the people detained in the jail complex. In these five episodes of our New Thinking podcast, we take a closer look at the human cost of Rikers through the testimony of advocates, researchers, and—most importantly—those who have experienced the harms of Rikers Island firsthand.
“People, Not Charges”: Combating Racial Disparities through Early Diversion
As Los Angeles County has recently shown, decreasing incarceration overall doesn't necessarily reduce racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Early diversion programs can make a much-needed difference.
For someone faced with an arrest, prosecutors are arguably the most powerful figures in the legal system. Can this power be leveraged to reduce, rather than expand, the harms of incarceration?
Any time in jail can be life-threatening for incarcerated people, many of whom are awaiting trial and cannot afford to pay bail. The rising death tolls on Rikers Island and in jails across the country underscore the need for safer, more humane responses to the challenges facing our communities.
The 2022 Community Justice International Summit provided perspectives from judges, prosecutors, defenders, social workers, treatment specialists, community members and others on collaborative strategies to address issues such as opioid abuse, inequities in justice system responses, and centering the voices of those with lived experience in the justice system.
Q&A with Judge Rice: Opportunity Youth Part Two-Year Anniversary
Judge Jared R. Rice discusses the first two years of New Rochelle's Opportunity Youth Part, a program that addresses the needs of young people in the legal system by connecting them with the resources to divert or reduce their charges.
Safety is more than the absence of crime. It's about building power within communities. See how communities define safety for themselves, and our approach to helping them achieve it.
