Common Sense, Cost-Saving Alternatives to Jail
Andrea James of "Families for Justice As Healing" testifying in opposition to H1434. Joint Committee on the Judiciary, State House. April 24, 2014. Photo credit: Jean Trounstine.
The Pretrial Working Group, organized in the fall of 2013, is a statewide organization developing and implementing pretrial alternatives to incarceration. In Massachusetts, everyday, more than 5,000 women and men are jailed pretrial, that is, they have been convicted of nothing. The majority are often held for months only because they do not have money for bail.
We are advocating and organizing for a cost effective criminal justice system that insures the human rights of residents as well as public safety. We are working to create alternatives such as pretrial services and community-based wellness alternatives instead of building new jails and prisons. We are focused on designing and implementing pretrial services and diversion programs that begin at the initial arrest when tax dollars are more effectively spent and intervention is more effective.
Current proven research data and evidence-based practices show that most people can be safely released into the community while their legal case is pending in court. Diversion projects and pretrial services have been successfully utilized in other states, such as New Jersey, Kentucky, Maine, New York (see here as well), Ohio, and Washington DC, resulting in significant cost savings, less harm to the person and her/his family who has been arrested but not convicted of any crime, increased public safety, decreased recidivism, and increased access to justice.
Thank you for visiting our site. If you would like to know more about our work, please visit the Goals & Recommendations page or feel free to send us a message!
We are advocating and organizing for a cost effective criminal justice system that insures the human rights of residents as well as public safety. We are working to create alternatives such as pretrial services and community-based wellness alternatives instead of building new jails and prisons. We are focused on designing and implementing pretrial services and diversion programs that begin at the initial arrest when tax dollars are more effectively spent and intervention is more effective.
Current proven research data and evidence-based practices show that most people can be safely released into the community while their legal case is pending in court. Diversion projects and pretrial services have been successfully utilized in other states, such as New Jersey, Kentucky, Maine, New York (see here as well), Ohio, and Washington DC, resulting in significant cost savings, less harm to the person and her/his family who has been arrested but not convicted of any crime, increased public safety, decreased recidivism, and increased access to justice.
Thank you for visiting our site. If you would like to know more about our work, please visit the Goals & Recommendations page or feel free to send us a message!
Massachusetts residents agree. In Feb. 2014, the non-partisan MassINC Polling Group released their poll on criminal justice reform in Massachusetts. They found that: |
Koczela, Steven. "Ready for Reform? Public Opinion on Criminal Justice in Massachusetts." The MassINC Polling Group. February 20, 2014. Accessed February 17, 2015.
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