IN THE NEWS
Editorial: No, criminals aren’t rampaging across California because of our zero-dollar bail policy
California’s emergency zero-dollar bail order does not force officials to turn criminals loose on the public.
Press
Alongside the housing crisis, a safety crisis: Renters 3X more likely to be victims of serious violence, report finds
WASHINGTON - A new report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) reveals a violent side of America’s housing crisis: along with major financial strain caused by rising rents and inflation renters are far more likely to become victims of violence. Renters are three-times more likely to suffer aggravated assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault than Americans in owner-occupied housing. The disparity persists across income levels, racial and ethnic groups, and age, according to analyses of federal data released today by ASJ.
New York City is the safest big city in America. Many — but not all — serious crimes have declined since their early COVID increases, as have crimes in the subway. Yet, people remain concerned and often feel a sense of disorder. As the city strives to maintain positive momentum and consider the best ways to address public safety, it is essential to consider the experiences and perspectives of victims and survivors of crime. This happens rarely nationwide — New York City can and should be different. To inform the urgent debate on crime policy, in May of 2024, Alliance for Safety and Justice and the Independent Rikers Commission commissioned a New York City Survey of Victims’ Views. This report describes the findings from this survey and points to opportunities for further research and reform to advance policies that align with the needs and perspectives of victims.
Study Reveals Strong Majority of Crime Survivors in NYC Support Significant Investments and Reforms that Will Help Close Rikers, Including Expanding Mental Health and Drug Treatment Expanding Violence Prevention Programs, and Speeding Up Trials
Inside Philanthropy: The Foundations Behind a Crime Survivors’ March Against “Tough On Crime” Policies
An article in Inside Philanthropy by Dawn Wolfe covers the Crime Survivors Speak March on Washington and the community of funders who helped support the event. Here’s an excerpt: The march, and preliminary events in California, Florida, and Michigan, were organized by Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ), a program of the national Alliance for Safety […]
“My main takeaway is that criminal justice reform is continuing to advance public safety”
ARE CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS MAKING THE STATE SAFER?
Tim Arango and Charles McDermid
Blogs
Florida Is Just a Start
How the rest of the country can take the Sunshine State’s lead and embrace second-chance criminal justice reform.
Will Florida’s Ex-Felons Finally Regain the Right to Vote?
A referendum on the November ballot in Florida would re-enfranchise 1.5 million citizens — and could change the state’s electorate.
IN THE NEWS
CRIME SURVIVORS LOBBY LAWMAKERS FOR REFORM, MORE ASSISTANCE
The Columbus Dispatch: Hundreds of survivors of crime gathered Wednesday at the Statehouse for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice’s inaugural “Survivors Speak Ohio” event to advocate for criminal-justice reform and help for crime victims.
Multimedia
Corrections Spending Increased 13 Times More Than Education Spending
Cleveland 19 News (CBS): The survey shows crime victims want better services and rehabilitation programs instead of long prison sentences. Robert Rooks is the Vice President of Alliance for Safety and Justice…
The Source: New Survey Shows Victims Of Crime Less Likely To Support Long Sentences, Incarceration
Texas Public Radio: President Obama commuted the sentence of a record breaking 214 federal prisoners. The move marks another in the continuing signs that the United States is rethinking how we accomplish justice and public safety…
How Do Crime Victims View Incarceration?
Sirius XM Progress: Ari Rabin-Havt speaks with Lenore Anderson, President, Alliance for Safety and Justice about their new report on crime victims. The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt airs live nationally, Monday through Friday, 6:00am – 9:00am ET on SiriusXM Progress, channel 127.
In the News
From PennLive: Pa. House approves bill to aid state inmates’ re-entry into society
Read the original story on PennLive.com By Jan Murphy | [email protected] Legislation that would help to ease state inmates’ transition into society and give them an opportunity to get out sooner, won passage in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday. One bill would require the state to assist inmates in obtaining identification before leaving prison […]
Washington Post: A reckless prison reform
The Feb. 20 front-page article about efforts to undo parole and sentencing reforms in Louisiana, based on the highly unlikely premise that our rapidly aging prison populations will repeat their crimes even after decades in prison, struck close to home [“La. GOP works to undo prison system changes”]. In Virginia, George Allen’s 1994 signature campaign issue was to abolish parole, in favor of “truth in sentencing.” The actual “truth” back then, as future Justice Antonin Scalia testified to Congress as chair of the Administrative Conference of the United States in 1973, was that courts heavied up on sentences to accommodate the then-realistic chances of parole — anticipating “that a prisoner who demonstrates his desire for rehabilitation will not serve the maximum term or anything approaching the maximum.”
What We Need To Curb Violence In The U.S. (And It Isn’t More Prisons And Policing)
In reaction to increased violence in some American cities this summer, we’re witnessing the old familiar responses. As Chicago experienced record murders, President Donald Trump announced he would send in federal forces while the city’s police department sought to flood neighborhoods with cops. But these policing-focused efforts will not stop the cycle of violence so that everyone is safe. No one understands this better than the people who live in the communities that actually face the violence ― including those, like me, who have been victims.
