In this issue…
New Data Released by the Independent Budget Office Reinforces Urgent Need to Pass #LessIsMoreNY
Join Us for our Next Healthy & Just CT Coalition Meeting
A Path to Justice: Demystifying Criminal Justice in New York Through Conversation
New Data Released by the Independent Budget Office Reinforces Urgent Need to Pass #LessIsMoreNY
A new city study released Tuesday, August 27 by the City’s Independent Budget Office reports that while the overall NYC jail population continues to decline, the number of people detained due to technical parole violations is on the rise. The average daily population for people accused of violating the conditions of their state parole grew from 550 in 2014 to 650 in 2018 – an increase of about 18%, costing taxpayers $190 million yearly.
The IBO report comes just ahead of the City Council’s Land Use Committee public hearing on Thursday, September 5, regarding the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) in place to shut down Rikers Island.
If New York is serious about fast-tracking the closure of Rikers Island and reducing our local jail population, Albany must enact radical changes to the parole system beginning with the passage of our Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform bill, sponsored by Senator Brian Benjamin and Assemblyman Walter T. Mosley.
Developed with directly impacted communities across New York, #LessIsMoreNY would overhaul New York’s deeply broken parole system, and its punitive, counterproductive practices. The bill has widespread support from community groups, law enforcement officials, and more. However, Governor Cuomo has remained silent.
We are organizing throughout New York to build power and momentum to pass #LessIsMoreNY which would speed up the process to #CLOSErikers once and for all. Join with us on Thursday, September 5 at New York City Hall as we raise our voices to demand immediate action from lawmakers and the closure of Rikers Island.
To RSVP to join us at NY City Hall next week, contact Shaka Colon at scolon@katalcenter.org or at 347.309.6745
Join Us for Our Next Healthy & Just CT Coalition Meeting
We invite groups to join us Thursday, September 12, from 11am-12:30pm at our Hartford Office for our next Healthy & Just CT Statewide Coalition meeting. RSVP here.
The goals of this coalition are to:
- Strengthen the field of criminal justice reform by facilitating intersectional collaborations;
- Identify and discuss resources for collective action on criminal justice reform;
- Coordinate work that increases the role and leadership of people directly impacted.
Be sure to read our Connecticut Criminal Justice Reform Field Scan here. We synthesized hundreds of surveys and interviews, centering the voices of CT residents, into five digestible themes. We thank all who were involved, who shared their genuine thoughts for our research, and we hope that over the next number of years this will serve to inform the next phase of advocacy to end mass incarceration in CT.
To learn more about our work in Connecticut and to RSVP for our next Healthy & Just CT Coalition Meeting, contact our Community Organizer, Kenyatta Thompsonat kthompson@katalcenter.org or 860.937.6094. We hope that we’ll see you there!
A Path to Justice: Demystifying Criminal Justice in New York Through Conversation
Donna Hylton speaks on her experience in prison for 27 years during the panel discussion.
On Thursday, August 15, Katal’s Donna Hylton joined Remedy Network, alongside a panel of New York State criminal justice reform experts, at “Path To Justice” a workshop for millennials designed to start the conversation about reforming the criminal justice system. The workshop gave a room filled to capacity of millennials, tools on how to effectively advocate for change and educate the community on reform efforts underway in New York State, including our #LessIsMoreNY parole reformcampaign.
Partners of the event included: The New York City Mayor’s Office, New York Urban League Young Professionals, Thrive NYC, The JM Kaplan Fund, Katal, and The Brownsville Community Justice Center.
We thank J. Caleb Perkins & the Remedy Network team for partnering with us and bringing people together to discuss the mass incarceration crisis in our country, how we can address it, fight it, and drive real change.
Check out our Twitter thread to see photos and watch videos from “A Path to Justice,” here.
If you want to get involved in New York in our #LessIsMoreNY campaign for parole reform, please contact Cedric Fulton at cfulton@katalcenter.orgor at 518.965.6771.
