On September 15th, delegates from community organizations in Broome, Cortland, Delaware, and Tompkins counties and beyond joined in a day-long discussion of recent criminal justice reforms in their respective communities. They shared on-the-ground developments, organizational activities over the last year, and insights and perspectives.
Central in every session were debates over how criminal justice reform has leapt to the top of the political agenda in the last few years. Efforts aimed at reducing the egregiously high incarceration rates have proliferated as a result. Reforms spawned in the post-recession period appear progressive by offering non-carceral sanctions and changes designed to mitigate the consequences of mass incarceration.
Conference attendees found these so-called reforms lacking. Rather than empower communities and individuals, reform initiatives increasingly reproduce many of the conditions of incarceration and allocate extensive resources and power to the criminal justice system. Indeed, most programs rely on the threat of incarceration as a matter of course. NGOs offering re-entry and ATI programs have often become probation officers; racially-biased drug courts now impose onerous restrictions and conditions on participants; and jails provide medical detox but still house mostly poor people with health conditions.
During the day our discussions led to the conclusion that this kinder face of mass incarceration shares fundamental inhumanities with its antecedents. In this document we spell out, for ourselves and others fighting such injustices, the common challenges we face, along with our common principles for the fight ahead, and the ultimate goals for which we battle.
Principles for advocacy and anti-mass incarceration practice:
We aim, in all our efforts, to expand human freedom and empower people through vibrant egalitarian communities.
We support all efforts, legislative and otherwise, that reduce the harms of the criminal justice system and the scourge of poverty; this includes universal healthcare, jobs with living wages, and robust social services.
We seek to implement non-police and non-carceral mechanisms that can adequately respond to violent and harmful acts as defined by community members.
We oppose all reforms that invest in and further empower, police, jails, and courts— this includes renovations for “bigger and better” jails.
We need to empower the voice and leadership of those most immediately impacted by mass incarceration and mass policing.
As a group, we endeavor to continue progress on the following:
Programs and Initiatives
Bail and Court Watch. Across our counties, we have been engaged with bail and court reform. This issue will increase in the coming year due to actions in Albany and elsewhere. There was common agreement that we should push for no cash bail for both misdemeanors and felonies as far as possible. It was noted that bail reforms, as in California, can lead to longer, harsher terms of incarceration for those awaiting trial. Participants discussed how information on bail is being collected in Broome, Onondaga, Cortland, and New York City (as a comparison), and how this work can be used to generate lower amounts or no bail for most of those currently awaiting trial (which is about 75-80% of those in our jails).
Invest in communities, not jails. During the day there was wide agreement that jail is an unsuitable tool to address the myriad social problems and institutional dysfunctions our communities face. Rather than jail investment, we propose to allocate resources and dollars to the community. That means investing in daycares, schools, mental health programs, and social services.
Support incarcerated people and their loved ones. Participants, most of whom are formerly incarcerated or have loved ones currently or formerly incarcerated, discussed their efforts to provide support to incarcerated people and those who care for them. On this front, organizations pledged to continue providing direct support. Positive programs include peer-to-peer initiatives.
Challenges
Countering the Jail as a Treatment Center. One of the greatest challenges we face is the drive by Sheriffs, county, and state legislators to locate new health and treatment services in county jails. Jails are now being designated as hubs for health care and substance use disorder treatment. New resources and funding to address the overdose epidemic are being channeled into our county jails rather than community-based programs and centers. Counter-proposals to locate social and harm reduction-based treatment programs in the community are a key action item for the coming year.
Combatting Diversion Programs as Carceral Programs. Many of the ‘alternative to incarceration programs’ being implemented in our counties are increasingly programs that widen the power of the police, courts, and judicial power. Diversionary programs like LEAD, now often reserved for opioid users, has excluded community partners while enhancing the power of police. Local non-profits hoping to assist those with substance use disorder are often required to partner with the police and courts to continue access to funding. This has included reporting back to the police or courts on clients’ behavior and the content of their counseling sessions. Discussions on ways to sever police and court control of new resources and programs, including those focused on reentry, emerged as a high priority across multiple counties.