Advanced filters

Search Results

You searched for:  -

There are 396 results  for your search.  View and Refine Your Search Terms

  • Since when is being a teenager a crime?

    August 07, 2021 |

    Reveal |

    Illustrations |

    Under 800 Words

    Response Location: United States, Wyoming

    Neighboring states of Wyoming and South Dakota take starkly different approaches toward youth who get in trouble. Side-by-side comic panels follow two real cases through each system. A South Dakota teen gets help that steers her off a destructive path. A Wyoming teen gets punished, and ends up in a downward spiral of more trouble and more punishment. Both states once had relatively high youth incarceration rates. Now only one of them, Wyoming, does: the second-worst in the U.S., and three times the national average.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Federal monitors cost millions, with disputed results. Seattle's police watchdog was a case in point.

    August 02, 2021 |

    The Washington Post |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Seattle, Washington

    Federal consent decrees install court-appointed monitors to oversee reforms agreed to by a police department and the U.S. Justice Department after federal officials have found a department violates people's civil rights. In Seattle, a long-running monitor program oversaw great improvement in the police department's use of force. But the project turned so acrimonious that the monitor called the department a failure and the department said the monitor lacked accountability and a sensible yardstick to measure success. The Biden administration has revived the program nationwide but is studying ways to fix it.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Austin youth re-entry program has 15% recidivism rate, compared to 75% nationwide

    July 26, 2021 |

    KXAN-TV |

    Broadcast TV News |

    3-5 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Austin, Texas

    Jail to Jobs pays youth while they get trained for jobs in construction, manufacturing, landscaping, and cooking. The youth come from youth detention, the streets, probation, and foster care and their trainers are formerly incarcerated. Jail to Jobs, with four locations in Austin, has helped more than 600 young people find employment despite their pasts. Only 15% of its graduates have been jailed afterward, a lower-than-average recidivism rate.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • A 'Zoom boom' boosted civic engagement across Kansas. But will it continue?

    July 20, 2021 |

    The Kansas Leadership Center Journal (KLC Journal) |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Kansas

    When courthouses and in-person government meetings shut down because of COVID-19, officials satisfied Kansas’ open meeting mandate by using pandemic relief aid to equip buildings with the technology needed to live stream proceedings and allow constituents to comment remotely. Crowds watching on platforms like Facebook Live were substantially higher than in-person attendance had ever been. Several cities linked agendas online and found creative ways to include public comments in meetings. Advocates are looking to maintain the public’s increased civic engagement as courts and government offices are reopening.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • What Do Police Know About Teenagers? Not Enough.

    July 17, 2021 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, Lafayette, Indiana

    "Policing the teen brain" is a training regimen devised by Strategies for Youth that teaches police officers to de-escalate conflicts with adolescents to avoid unnecessary incarceration. Youth detention has dropped significantly since Tippecanoe County put most of its officers through the training. Police learn how to account for teens' lowered impulse control and undeveloped problem solving skills. The county decided to pay for the expensive training because detention, which hits Black youth hardest, can be even more costly – and leave lasting damage in the lives of young people.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • After 'painfully slow' start, restorative justice program tries to reset

    July 17, 2021 |

    Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Cheshire County, New Hampshire

    The Cheshire County Restorative Justice Program works to take low-level defendants, accused of things like shoplifting or alcohol violations out of court and into an alternative process, sparing them criminal records that would later weigh them down. The program’s goal is to push the legal system toward restorative justice, reimagining its traditional processes.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Keeping People Out of Jail Keeps People Out of Jail

    July 12, 2021 |

    Reasons to be Cheerful |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Boston, Massachusetts

    When prosecutors in Boston and Baltimore stopped prosecuting certain non-violent, minor offenses, crime of all sorts, from minor to violent, went down. Getting prosecuted and jailed can in itself increase the probability that people will get in more trouble. When their mistakes are not compounded by an arrest record that limits their job and housing prospects, they are apt to stay out of trouble. The prosecutors and research found that simply excluding cases of non-violent, minor drug possession, disorderly conduct, shoplifting from the system does not encourage more crime; probably the opposite.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Some youth avoid detention and rehabilitate at Central Oregon ranch

    July 09, 2021 |

    Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) |

    Radio Talk Show |

    Over 15 Minutes

    Response Location: United States, Bend, Oregon

    Youth in Oregon who get court-ordered rehabilitation as an alternative to youth detention might end up at the J Bar J Ranch, which despite its name is less a working ranch than a boarding school with individual counseling aimed at helping troubled young people change themselves. Success takes many forms – high school diplomas, reconnecting with family, setting and meeting personal goals – but first the youth must earn a place at the ranch, which can only take 28 at a time.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Two KCK schools shifting focus from punishment to make schools safer, reduce suspensions

    July 02, 2021 |

    The Kansas City Beacon |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Kansas

    Restorative discipline in classrooms is allowing students to focus on building relationships and repairing harm instead of suffering punishments. The practice prioritizes communication in an effort to emphasize community as well as reduce suspensions. The technique has had proven success in other schools, resulting in dramatic decreases in safety offenses.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

  • Police Reform: Federal monitor

    June 30, 2021 |

    Local News Matters |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

    With a long string of questionable uses of force and huge payouts to settle brutality lawsuits, the Vallejo Police Department might look to nearby Oakland for one approach to achieving better, more accountable policing: a court-appointed monitor. In Oakland, a monitor since 2003 has had the authority of a judge's order behind him as he and a staff oversee the city's use of force, handling of complaints, training, and other operations. The costly process is not without critics, nor is the Oakland department trouble-free. But some see the monitor as a force for positive change after a period of corruption.

    Read More


    Go to Original Story

Solutions In Focus

Discover curated content about themes that matter to you, exclusively from the Solutions Story Tracker. Explore collections, resources and more.


Go to All Solutions in Focus