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Safety and Justice Challenge

Reducing the Overuse of Jails

  • Nancy Fishman - Project Director
    Nancy Fishman
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A Different Type of Night Court Is Keeping People Out of Jail

Instead, the day I met him in late April, Carlos had just pled guilty to a misdemeanor, was ordered to see a drug diversion counselor, and could walk away a free man. More importantly, Carlos didn’t have to miss a day of work. His court session took  place in the evening. Two years ago, Pima’s jailhouse was near capacity. Local politicians were con...

Blog Post
  • ​Jesse  Alejandro Cottrell
    ​Jesse Alejandro Cottrell
August 31, 2018
Blog Post

How Should Probation and Parole Define Success?

For over a decade, Vera has worked with the city of New Orleans to reduce their jail population. As a program associate with Vera New Orleans, I’m proud to be a part of this effort. Before joining Vera’s New Orleans team, I was a probation and parole officer with the State of Louisiana’s Department of Corrections. During this time, I amassed countl...

Blog Post
  • Jonathan  Varnado
    Jonathan Varnado
April 18, 2017
Blog Post

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Criminal Justice Reform Task Force

Report and Recommendations

For years, Oklahoma County has been grappling with an overcrowded and run-down jail. With discussions abounding about whether to replace it with a larger facility, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce convened a task force to examine the county’s local justice system and needs. Chaired by Clayton Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thun...

Publication
  • Nancy Fishman, Kaitlin Kall, Hanna Dershowitz, Jessi LaChance, Stephen Roberts, Rebecca Silber
December 14, 2016
Publication

Overlooked: Women and Jails in an Era of Reform

Since 1970, there has been a nearly five-fold increase in the number of people in U.S. jails—the approximately 3,000 county or municipality-run detention facilities that primarily hold people arrested but not yet convicted of a crime. Despite recent scrutiny from policymakers and the public, one aspect of this growth has received little attention: ...

Publication
  • Elizabeth Swavola, Kristi Riley, Ram Subramanian
August 15, 2016
Publication

Safety and Justice Challenge

An initiative to reduce over-incarceration in America's jails

The Safety and Justice Challenge is an initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails. The initiative—an initial five-year, $75 million investment by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation—features a competition to help jurisdictions across the country create fairer, more effective local j...

Resource Site
July 07, 2016
Resource Site

The Human Toll Of Jail

Stories that tell the human toll of local incarceration

Special Report
May 26, 2016
Special Report

The Human Toll of Jail Fact Sheet

There are more than 3,000 jails in the United States, holding 731,000 people on any given day—more than the population of Detroit and nearly as many people as live in San Francisco. But there’s more to the story of jail incarceration than just the numbers. In collaboration with media publisher Narratively as part of the John D. and Catherine T. Mac...

Publication
February 23, 2016
Publication

In Our Own Backyard

Confronting Growth and Disparities in American Jails

Although local jails are increasingly recognized as the “front door” to mass incarceration, justice system stakeholders and others historically have not had access to the necessary data to understand how their jail is being used and how it compares with others. To address this issue, Vera researchers developed a data tool that includes current and ...

Publication
  • Ram Subramanian, Christian Henrichson, Jacob Kang-Brown
December 15, 2015
Publication

The Price of Jails

Measuring the Taxpayer Cost of Local Incarceration

Jails are far more expensive than previously understood, as significant jail expenditures—such as employee benefits, health care and education programs for incarcerated people, and general administration—are often not reflected in jail budgets, but rather in other county agencies. This report surveys 35 jail jurisdictions in 18 states to tally the ...

Publication
  • Christian Henrichson, Joshua Rinaldi, Ruth Delaney
May 21, 2015
Publication

Incarceration's Front Door

The Misuse of Jails in America

Local jails exist in nearly every town and city in America. Intended to house only people deemed to be a danger to society or a flight risk, jails have become massive warehouses primarily for those too poor to post even low bail or too sick for existing community resources to help. And the burden of jail incarceration doesn’t fall on everyone equal...

Publication
  • Ram Subramanian, Ruth Delaney, Stephen Roberts, Nancy Fishman, Peggy McGarry
February 11, 2015
Publication
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In the News

Booker and Warren: Women in Prison Deserve Dignity

CNN September 05, 2017

Lawsuit Accuses Louisiana Judge and House Arrest Company of Scheming to Exploit Criminal Defendants

Mic News August 08, 2017

How Bail Destroys Lives and Makes Innocent People Plead Guilty

Mic News August 03, 2017

The Injustices Seen In The U.S Prison System Affect Women Very Differently Than Men

Girl Talk HQ July 26, 2017

6 Takeaways for Philly From a National Conference About Women Behind Bars

BillyPenn July 25, 2017

What Happened After This Teen Chose to Fight for His Innocence Is Terrible

ATTN: July 21, 2017

In Washington, New Hope for Fixing America’s Female Incarceration Problem

Vogue July 20, 2017

Jails Weren’t Built for Women. Inmate Advocates Say That’s a Big Problem

TIME July 20, 2017

Women Are Often Ignored In The Conversation On Criminal Justice Reform

Elite Daily July 19, 2017

Kamala Harris Went to Prison So Others Won’t Have To

Mother Jones July 19, 2017

Women Unshackled: Kim Moser to Speak in D.C. On Growing Female Opioid-Related Incarcerations

North Kentucky Tribune July 18, 2017

Senators Cory Booker & Elizabeth Warren Demand "Dignity" For Women Behind Bars

Refinery 29 July 13, 2017

It’s Still Legal To Shackle Pregnant Inmates, But Some Lawmakers Want That To Change

Consumerist July 12, 2017

Elizabeth Warren Wants to Ban the Shackling of Pregnant Inmates for Good

Broadly July 12, 2017

Bill Introduced in Congress to Ban Shackling and Solitary Confinement of Pregnant Women

Reason July 11, 2017

N.J. Needs Gender Impact Criminal Justice Statement

Asbury Park Press July 07, 2017

Rural America’s Jail Dilemma

The Crime Report July 07, 2017

Jay-Z Bailed Out Incarcerated Dads for Father's Day

Glamour June 20, 2017

Opioid Epidemic Major Contributor to Rural Jail Overcrowding

Watertown Daily Times June 19, 2017

Kentucky Addressing Pretrial Detention Rates

Bowling Green Daily News June 17, 2017

Rural Jails Impair Efforts to Reduce Mass Incarceration

Pacific Standard June 16, 2017

Rural Jails are Eager Allies in Immigration Crackdown

Reveal June 16, 2017

The Rise of Rural Incarceration

City Lab June 15, 2017

We Can't "End Mass Incarceration" if We Erase the Experiences of Criminalized Women

Truth Out June 14, 2017
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