New Initiative Aims to Expand Crime Prevention Programs in Police, Court System
Credit: BrianAJackson / iStockphoto
By Tammy Leytham
With Americans losing confidence in law enforcement and the justice system, The Just Trust has launched a $4 million effort to expand bold approaches to community safety and accountability.
The Safer Communities Accelerator has made a commitment to eight organizations that are championing pre-arrest and pre-trial models. From deflection and diversion, to violence prevention programs, to restorative justice work, its goal is to get people the help they need while reducing reliance on policing and incarceration.
The Just Trust is an organization that works to scale, align, and deploy resources to criminal justice reform in the United States.
Its Safer Communities Accelerator is an effort to:
Reduce arrests and incarcerations of people experiencing poverty or mental health issues
Reform the justice system
Reform alternative sentencing programs
“If we’re going to transform our justice system, we have to start investing in a broader range of solutions that contribute to safety,” said Jolene Forman, chief program officer at The Just Trust.
“This means not only pursuing smart policies that reserve police resources for specific, serious interventions, but also investing in proven solutions that more appropriately address the full breadth of community safety needs,” Forman said. “The Safer Communities Accelerator is focused on the latter.”
Initial cohort members include: The Atlanta Policing Alternatives Division, The Law Enforcement Action Partnership, CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets), Community Based Public Safety Collective, Cure Violence Global (CVG), Equal Justice USA, Common Justice, and Impact Justice.
Six of these organizations have been asked to replicate – or advise on replicating – their approaches in other communities. All have strong, proven track records where they operate.
“These models offer compelling roadmaps for how jurisdictions across the country can implement programs that work alongside — or sometimes in lieu of — police and courts,” said Neha Raval, program officer at The Just Trust. “We can’t rely on law enforcement alone to address all of the issues our communities are struggling with — especially behavioral and mental health concerns.”
In 2023, the accelerator will expand to additional organizations, prioritizing those working in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and West Virginia in alignment with The Just Trust’s State by State campaign.
A 2022 Gallup poll indicates 50 percent of Americans support “major” changes to policing in the U.S., and 39 percent support “minor” changes. About 25 percent of Americans support eliminating officer enforcement of nonviolent crimes.