In our study of more than 800 New York City schools, students who were suspended were more likely to incur other negative consequences, including poor academic performance, dropout, and arrest. Suspensions were also disparately applied, influenced by factors such as race, disability, and economic status. Schools with a better overall climate tended to use suspensions more sparingly, and we found positive approaches, such as restorative justice, could greatly improve outcomes for students and school climate alike.
Honoring Judge Alex Calabrese as a "fierce advocate for justice," John Jay College of Criminal Justice awarded the presiding judge of our Red Hook Community Justice Center an honorary degree alongside the class of 2019. Featured at the May commencement, this short film highlights Calabrese's transformational leadership in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and how an emphasis on healing can advance a more humane and effective justice system.
On New Thinking, the well-known journalist and commentator Emily Bazelon talks about her new book, Charged, on the "movement to transform American prosecution," and where she thinks power might be shifting in the criminal justice system. Progressive prosecutors are very much a minority among elected D.A.s, but what if they could be the model for dismantling what Bazelon calls America's "giant machine of punishment"?
Like a number of cities across the U.S., New York City is in the midst of a remarkable, often contentious, debate about the future and purpose of its jails. New Thinking host Matt Watkins recently moderated a public discussion of the city’s pledge to replace its notorious Rikers Island jail complex with a series of smaller, modern facilities—located near courthouses, not on an isolated island. It's a shift the mayor says will end the era of mass incarceration in the city.
Bronx Community Solutions is a team of social service providers, compliance monitors, community service supervisors, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice in the Bronx. This includes offering judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, jail sentences, and court appearances.
Peacemaking is a traditional Native American approach to justice focused on healing and community restoration, rather than punishment. The Near Westside Peacemaking Project brings this practice to one of Syracuse, New York’s most distressed neighborhoods, offering community members a unique approach to addressing an array of community problems. This report describes the 24-month planning period and the first two years of program implementation, including program structure, goals, caseload, and feedback from participants.
On our New Thinking podcast, the Oakland-based architect explains her firm’s mission to use design to counter incarceration and promote the use of restorative justice. She also discusses her work on our Near Westside Peacemaking Center in Syracuse, N.Y.
This document describes the Native American method of peacemaking—a non-adversarial form of justice focusing on restoration and the long-term healing of relationships—and offers detailed guidelines for implementation by state courts.
In May 2016, victim advocates, restorative justice practitioners, tribal peacemakers, prosecutors, federal policymakers, and others came together in Santa Fe, N.M., to discuss whether and how restorative practices could be used to safely and effectively respond to intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and dating violence. This document synthesizes a complex discussion into a series of themes for future reflection and planning around the issues raised.
This monograph explores whether and how restorative practices might be safe and effective as a response to intimate partner violence and provides practitioners with a series of questions to assist in developing key policies and principles for these interventions.
