Many issues that are primary drivers of mass incarceration cannot be remedied through government solutions alone. Issues such as broken families and mental health, both forever altered by over criminalization, cannot be simply be repaired through legislation. Civil Society has the unique capability to address certain social issues that government cannot, or to address them more effectively than government can. This section also addresses issues in which over-policing attempts to fix issues that should be handled through the community.
“I and other commissioners are focused on expanding rights for every justice-involved District resident. Reentry is a difficult process, but residents who have strong connections to the community are likely to be successful. I should know. I am one of them.“
Washington Post
June 14, 2019
Read More“White’s bill would thrust the District into the vanguard of the felon enfranchisement movement. Bills to eliminate lifetime voting bans for felons and to restore voting rights to those on parole or probation have won bipartisan support in statehouses and at the ballot box. But allowing people to vote while serving time remains controversial.“
Washington Post
June 3, 2019
Read More“Lindh and other incarcerated American supporters of Islamic militants present a quandary with growing urgency: Is the United States prepared to try to rehabilitate extremists and foreign fighters, and welcome them back into society? “
Washington Post
May 20, 2019
Read More“I came to Columbus Circle at midnight and found a whole fleet of buses. All these women, children and even some men were boarding these buses to go to the upstate correctional facilities. They would ride all night, go through a long, degrading security process, just to spend a few hours with their loved ones, before taking the bus home. As I talked to those women, I knew I was witnessing one of the great love stories of our time.“
Washington Post
March 28, 2019
Read More“So, city officials are flipping the script: intervening directly with young men who are closest to the violence — including known shooters — before they either pull the trigger or become a victim themselves. The strategy is part of a program called Advance Peace, which offers financial incentives to the young men it targets if they stay out of trouble, a relatively radical approach to reducing gang violence. Police consider such violence a major factor in homicides nationwide and say those killings can be among the most difficult to solve.“
Washington Post
November 9, 2018
Read More“In 2005, the World Health Organization dubbed Glasgow the “murder capital of Europe.” There had been 83 homicides the previous year in the Glasgow region, where gangs were known for their booze-and-blades culture. Exasperated police in Glasgow decided to rethink strategy. They set up a violence reduction unit (VRU) guided by the philosophy that violence is like a public health issue: Violent behavior spreads from person to person. To contain it, you need to think in terms of transmission and risk, symptoms and causes.“
Washington Post
October 27, 2018
Read More“The goal of criminal justice should not be any particular level of incarceration, high or low, but rather fair, consistent and effective enforcement focused on the most repugnant and most socially destabilizing crimes. We’re not there yet, but compared with the recent past, we are doing better.“
Washington Post
October 22, 2018
Read More"As the country’s participation in formalized religion decreases, the essential messages that churches convey about forgiveness and redemption are lost in favor of starker views of good and evil — ones that spell trouble for advocates of criminal justice reform."
Washington Post
August 20, 2018
Read More"Scenes like this have been taking place across the Twin Cities thanks to the Lights On program, believed to be the first of its kind in the country. Instead of writing tickets for minor equipment problems, police officers are authorized to issue $50 coupons so motorists can have those problems fixed at area auto shops. Twenty participating police departments have given out approximately 660 coupons in a little more than a year."
Washington Post
July 7, 2018
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