Justice – NewDEAL

Community Not Incarceration

Problem

The Salt Lake County jail struggles with overcrowding and high recidivism rates. A substantial percentage of those in jail have committed nonviolent crimes associated with mental health issues and substance abuse. Repeated arrests add to their criminal record but do nothing to address the underlying problems. When they leave jail without appropriate interventions, they often are re-arrested and incarcerated. Research has shown that an evidence-based assessment and referral to the appropriate type of treatment services increase the chance that they won’t re-offend.

Solution

Mayor McAdams’ team proposed using state grant funding for sheriff’s staff to conduct screenings for recidivism and behavioral health concerns in the jail. The county then combined the findings from that screening with case management by Criminal Justice Service staff to ensure the appropriate level of supervision, placement and follow up with treatment. The partnership between the Mayor, the Sheriff, the District Attorney and the County Council ensures that the right people and funding levels are aligned with a desired outcome: enhanced public safety, less jail overcrowding, reduced recidivism and access to behavioral health treatment to address the underlying cause of nonviolent crimes.

Justice Web

Problem

The historical lack of communication and information sharing between municipal courts in Montgomery County and the jail led to higher prison costs and duplicative efforts to track down information. This lack of coordination also hindered the social service system providers such as Children Services, Child Support Enforcement, and the tracking of Child Daycare Providers.

Solution

County Commissioner Dan Foley helped create JusticeWeb in 2005, a multi-county comprehensive criminal justice information system designed to improve mission critical data support for all levels of the justice system. Since its inception, JusticeWeb has saved taxpayer dollars by allowing the county to better manage its jail population and lower costs, and provide law enforcement with real-time data to make the community safer. JusticeWeb continues to grow and evolve as additional data is obtained and new technology develops. Most recently a mobile application was developed for use on most smartphones.

Police Shooting Reporting

January 18, 2020/in Smart Government Government Reform, Justice /by actualize

Problem

There is a national data gap on police officer use of deadly force, and officer-involved shootings because there is no mandatory reporting policy at the national level to capture information about these incidents. While Texas law already requires law enforcement agencies to report information on a number of different types of incidents to the state, including in-custody deaths, it does not require law enforcement agencies to provide statistics on police officer shootings. This means there is limited information for local police to address these issues and no aggregate data for policymakers, researchers, and law enforcement agencies to analyze in order to better understand and address possible trends or issues.

Solution

Representative Johnson has proposed legislation to increase transparency by requiring law enforcement agencies to report information on officer-involved shootings to the Office of the Attorney General and making this report available to the public so that the data gathered informs research and future policy. One of the biggest things that sets this law apart from other state approaches is the parallel reporting system that tracks incidents in which a civilian shoots a police officer in the course of duty. Additionally, unlike the majority of other state laws, the Texas reporting requirement has a strict reporting timeline for each incident to ensure that the data is gathered and reported in a timely fashion. Finally, keeping track of police officer shooting statistics can help increase transparency and maintain public trust in police officer agencies

The Santa Cruz Pact

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice 2015 Challenge Finalist /by actualize

Problem

Santa Cruz has long grappled with persistent drug and alcohol abuse-fueled petty crimes in its downtown area. The community’s sense of safety and economic prosperity are adversely impacted by this cycle of recidivism and many in Santa Cruz consider the local criminal justice system to be a revolving door for low-level criminals.

Solution

The City and County of Santa Cruz have joined forces to reduce recidivism among the community’s most chronic low level offenders. County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty helped launch PACT in April 2014, an innovative multi-agency and multi-disciplinary team, working collectively to provide street outreach, case management and treatment in exchange for strict court accountability. This adaptive program offers wraparound services to chronic offenders, on a voluntary basis, in exchange for strict accountability for their actions. The PACT program has already seen evidence of success with recidivism rates for PACT-intervened clients greatly reduced in the first twelve months of the program.

The POST Act: Ensuring Greater Public Oversight of Police Surveillance Technology

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice /by actualize

Problem

Since 2001, there has been a massive expansion in the use of technology to conduct domestic surveillance. Federal grants have enabled local governments nationwide to purchase these technologies, which are often acquired and used in secret. This creates a range of problems for individuals, communities, and the police, and will only increase as the Trump administration seeks to expand the use of military-grade police gear and surveillance. Over-reliance on secret surveillance technology can exacerbate distrust between communities and police. Secret technologies also often have secret methods of data storage. In an era of hacks and data breaches, the public deserves an understanding of how governments will safeguard sensitive data gathered by surveillance.

Solution

The Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act would make NYC a leader in public engagement, police accountability, and data security by requiring NYPD to disclose certain details about its surveillance tools, and review public comments, before using new technologies. This first-ever system of public oversight for NYPD’s surveillance tools would help the public understand how these tools may impact their privacy, and whether New York City — a sanctuary city — is sharing sensitive data gathered by surveillance with the federal government. In the absence of public oversight, police operate in a bubble, so public input can also allow them to uncover blind spots in their approach.

Second Chance Incentive

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice /by actualize

Problem

Columbus has a generally low unemployment rate, hovering right around four percent. But in some neighborhoods, unemployment rates exceeds 20 percent. Neighborhoods that are persistently underemployed often struggle with resulting symptoms of poverty. Many unemployed residents are employable but overlooked due to having served time in prison, and the City of Columbus’s retraining program for restored citizens and other reentry programs report that their largest limiting factor is the lack of available jobs to plug into. This shows us we can’t solve the problem without private sector engagement.

Solution

To encourage the private sector’s investment in more job opportunities for a set of residents with a lot to give, we have added the hiring of disadvantaged workers, such as restored citizens, to the factors considered during the pre-qualification process for companies who bid on city construction contracts. Advancing opportunities for those who otherwise struggle to find a job is a win-win proposition: It helps businesses tap into an available talent pool, and it helps more residents support their families and build up our neighborhoods.

Rapid Assessment and Support Services Diversion (RASS)

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice 2017 Challenge Finalist /by actualize

Problem

Following the national trend, Douglas County, Kansas has experienced an explosion in its female jail population. Most incarcerated females are being held for misdemeanor or drug offenses, with a significant portion of the population in-custody because of failure on pre-trial release or probation.

Diversion has long been used to divert low level offenders away from the criminal justice system. Historically, any history of prior offenses has barred participation in standard diversion programs. Since standard diversion programs are designed to address low level offenders, support services such as drug treatment, employment assistance and housing stabilization are not addressed.

Solution

The District Attorney’s Office is developing a new pre-trial, prosecutor-led diversion program aimed at nonviolent repeat female offenders that will allow for quick release of the female to meaningful monitoring program with support services aimed at addressing substance abuse, mental health, housing and employment, resulting in restoration of their social status. The goal of the program is to rapidly divert the defendant from the jail to a system that addresses underlying issues contributing to her criminal behavior. If she successfully completes the support program, pending charges are dismissed with prejudice. We would start with a data-driven review of the target population and then engage local stakeholders to create a map of available resources to support them.

Veterans Court

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Government Reform, Justice /by actualize

Problem

Too many veterans return home with health, substance abuse and/or psychosocial problems, making it difficult to re-enter the civilian population. A lack of jobs, along with family and housing issues, also takes its toll. When these veterans run afoul of the criminal justice system, it’s important for their unique circumstances to be understood and addressed.

Solution

Palm Beach County created a Veterans Court, partnering with federal, state and local agencies, to solve the participants’ underlying health, substance abuse and psychological problems. Honorably discharged veterans who commit certain misdemeanor and felony crimes are eligible upon the consent of the victims. Veterans Court is a non-adversarial atmosphere where a judge, prosecutor and public defender – all veterans themselves – work together to break the cycle of substance abuse and criminal behavior, and address mental and physical health issues. Perhaps most importantly, each veteran in the program is assigned a mentor — a fellow veteran usually from the same branch of service — to be there every step of the way. Working together, nearly all veterans successfully complete the program and return to a law-abiding life. Meanwhile, costs of pretrial incarceration have been reduced by 73%.

Parole Hearings Expedited

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice /by actualize

Problem

Parole hearings are often delayed, which can significantly impact someone’s life. My bill was inspired in part by the story of Mr. Robert Polk, who was on parole when a false charge was lodged against him. Despite the DA dismissing the charges quickly, Mr. Polk was immediately arrested and re-incarcerated for parole violation, where he had to wait more than a year for a parole hearing.

Solution

My bill provides expedited review by the board of parole, when requested by a judge or DA, to address cases when someone has been falsely accused of (and subsequently reincarnated) for a parole violation. Since the bill became law in April, we have become aware of at least one other case that warrants expedited review. Even just one case of an individual languishing in jail or prison when they are innocent necessitates the passage of this new law. We are excited at the prospect of folks being able to get out of jail or prison, allowing them to return to society and allowing our corrections system to become further unburdened. We also believe that this is a policy that could be widely adapted across the country.

Certificate of Employability Unlinking

January 18, 2020/in Criminal Justice Justice /by actualize

Problem

Previously, the law stated that an ex-offender could petition for their certificate of employability, which is available to ex-offenders who committed non-violent crimes and can help them land a job, only if they were in the process of restoring their rights of citizenship, which is a lengthy process in its own right. This made it difficult for ex-offenders to get a job and reenter the workforce.

Solution

My bill unlinks the certificate of employability process from the restoration of citizenship to make it easier for ex-offenders to apply for the certificate and reentering the workforce.

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