BOLTS magazine published an article titled Waiting for a Second Look. The piece highlights the challenges faced by people who were given lengthy sentences at a young age when seeking relief through D.C.’s landmark law the Second Look Amendment Act (SLAA). Passed in April 2021, the law allows individuals who have served at least 15 …
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The ACLU DC noted in a March 2022 post that it “strongly” supports a bill currently before City Council that would comprehensively modernize most offenses in the District’s criminal code. If adopted into law, this bill will be the first comprehensive revision of the D.C. Code since 1901.
The Washington Informer reports that the DC City Council has voted to reduce the number of school resource officers (SROs) in public and charter schools so that the program will end in 2025. The school resource officer program is run by the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The suggestion to remove officers and replace them …
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The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) has published a new report offering a look into the significant challenges and innovations in the District ’s adult and youth criminal legal systems during 2021. Titled D.C.’s Justice Systems Overview 2021, the report provides updates on various challenges and developments in D.C.’s criminal legal system, as well as …
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More Than Our Crimes, a group who advocates for individuals convicted of violent crimes who deserve a second chance, has been featured in an article published by the DCIST. The article, titled Meet The Duo Running A Publication By And For D.C.’s Prison Population, features More Than Our Crimes founders Pam Bailey and Robert Barton.
The Vera Institute of Justice recently published a Police Data Transparency Index to see how locations across the United States are performing in their release of data and how much public access to the data that is available. According to Vera, their analysis of police transparency reflected in the index is “rigorous and informed by …
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An article titled The People Responding to 911 Calls Instead of Police presents several people currently working as non-police alternatives to community crisis responses. The article tells real stories of people now involved in this work. The article notes that a high proportion of calls that come in through 911 don’t actually demand a police …
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A bill introduced by Rep. Elenor Holmes-Norton (D-DC) was passed by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The bill, if passed into law, would require the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide information to the District of Columbia on individuals convicted of felonies under D.C. law in BOP custody. BOP houses individuals convicted of …
The Vera Institute of Justice took a look at what an antiracist and equitable community crisis response program might look like. Researchers from Vera interviewed national subject matter experts and local program stakeholders, including people with direct experience in establishing and managing crisis response operations.
As reported by NPR, the Justice Department (DOJ) is looking to reduce racial disparities in a tool it uses to assess a prisoner’s risk of a return to crime, after scholars and justice advocates pressed for change.
