Meet the teenagers of the Newark Youth Court. These young people fill the roles of judge, bailiff, advocates, and jurors, hearing low-level cases involving their peers. The sentences are always restorative, meant to provide a positive experience for the respondent and avoid a criminal record.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys alike believe in the benefits of social service mandates for young people charged with misdemeanor offenses but differ over the usefulness of jail sentences, according to a survey and interviews of legal practitioners across three New York City boroughs. Those findings are contained in a report setting out current justice system practices for handling misdemeanor offenses committed by young people (ages 16-24) in New York City.
This video provides a short and engaging introduction to Youth Reset (part of Project Reset), our program providing meaningful diversion opportunities for 16- and 17-year-olds in New York City arrested for the first time for a low-level, non-violent crime. Successful participants will never set foot in a courtroom and will have no criminal record. The video explains the requirements of the program, the opportunity to be connected with voluntary services, and the criteria for eligibility.
This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Youth Justice Board, a youth leadership program that gives teenagers an opportunity to inform public debate about issues that affect them. During the 2016-17 school year, members examined the intersection between youth homelessness and the justice system in New York City in order to identify opportunities to better support homeless youth, reduce their interactions with the justice system, and prevent homelessness in the future.
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians created the GREAT Program to intervene with gang-involved youth, create a safer school climate, and provide pro-social gang prevention activities to community youth. In addition to the in-class curriculum, the program provides camp opportunities for youth to participate in throughout the year. This video follows youth, teachers, officers, staff and elders through their summer camp experience, where they share stories on how the program has impacted their lives.
In partnership with the New York City Police Department, the 2015-16 Youth Justice Board created this short video to increase understanding, cooperation, and trust between law enforcement and youth, and promote stronger police-community relationships.
Dannel P. Malloy, the governor of Connecticut, was the keynote speaker at Justice Innovations in Times of Change, a summit sponsored by the Center for Court Innovation and the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance in September 2016. The governor spoke about reforms under way in his state that have raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18, reduced the use of incarceration, and lowered crime to levels not seen since the 1960s.
Tshaka Barrows, deputy director of the Burns Institute, discusses his organization's collaborative and community-centered approach to addressing and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. Barrows spoke with Robert V. Wolf, director of communications at the Center for Court Innovation, after participating in a panel on Race and Procedural Justice at Justice Innovations in Times of Change.
This podcast is part of a series highlighting innovative approaches to reducing violence and improving health outcomes among at-risk minority youth at the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.
