Our History

and victories

Since our founding in 2015, we have done a lot. You can check out what we’ve done and all our victories below!

2015

Katal is founded.

2016

Katal is publicly launched.

2016

We launched the Lead National Support Bureau, which was a national police diversion project.

2016

We hosted a national tour of international delegates in advance of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS)

2016

We introduced a speedy trial reform called Kalief’s Law—which is really about pre-trial reform—in the wake of the death of Kalief Browder. This reform work led into our bail reform work.

2016

Launched Albany LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion) Program

2017

 Kalief’s Law (speedy trial reform) passed through the assembly.

2017

The Shut Rikers campaign—that we built and co-led with Just Leadership—scored a major victory when deBlasio announced that the official policy of New York City would be to close Rikers.

2017

Published one-year report on Albany LEAD. This program diverted over 300 people from being arrested and detained for processing before withdrawing from the program in 2018.

2017

We launched BLOC monthly organizer roundtables in CT

2017

We provided strategic support for the founding and launching of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People and Families Movement (FICPFM)

2017

 We did our Toward Justice events about the history and future of criminal justice reform in Connecticut. This launched the effort of a field scan we did in 2018 and launched in 2019.

2018

Passed a major bail reform measure in the state assembly in New York which cut jail populations leading to hundreds of thousands of people not going to jail.

2018

In Connecticut, we completed a field scan of the criminal justice reform system and published it detailing the remarkable 20-year drop in the prison population in the state

2018

We published a report on our reflections and lessons on the first two phases of the Close Rikers campaign.

2019

Our 2018 bail reform measure became the basis of the bail reform that passed in the New York Legislature.

2019

We published the field scan that was completed in 2018

2020

During Covid, we fought to release people from jails and prisons, and we won the release of 1000 people from state prisons.

2020

We produced materials online and sent packages to people so they could use the posters themselves.

2020

During Covid, we fought to release people from jails and prisons.

2021

We passed the Less is More Act—the parole reform act—which cut the number of people in New York on parole in half and helped lead to the closure of six prisons.

2021

In CT, we fought for closure of prisons and fought against the reopening of prisons that had been closed, like the Juvenile Training School

2022

We co-founded and launched Cultivating Justice