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Promoting Prison and Juvenile Justice Reform in Washington, DC

Introduction
DC Prison and Juvenile Justice Partners
Washington DC Research
Articles on Washington DC

Promoting prison and juvenile justice reform in Washington, DC

“What's our rationale for accepting the violence of American life? We've decided it would cost too much to get the young people who commit crimes into productive lives. Here's a dramatic insight: According to the Justice Policy Institute, the number of kids sent to juvenile court each year rises and falls in lockstep with the unemployment rate for the 16-19 age group in the District….So we know what to do. But it's easier to declare an emergency and wait until other concerns take over the headlines.” — “DC Reaction to the Killings Misses the Point,” Marc Fisher, The Washington Post, Tuesday, July 18, 2006.

If Washington, DC were a state, it would have the highest per capita incarceration rate in the country, and also, the highest per capita police force of any jurisdiction in the country. Debates on sentencing, crime, incarceration, and juvenile justice policies in D.C. make national news headlines, causing legislative ripples throughout the country. Despite its national influence, however, D.C.’s policies and practices on prisons and incarceration are slow to improve or change, largely because of the complicated role of the federal justice system.

JPI is working to support change and reform criminal justice policies in the city where we live. In 2006, JPI provided critical research to shift the debate away from the scapegoating of D.C. youth, and towards more informed and effective public safety policies. JPI provides research and communications support to the Justice for DC Youth Coalition, and supplies adult sentencing reform advocates with information they need to reduce gang crime, support community-based corrections, and promote effective public safety practices.

DC Prison and Juvenile Justice Reform Partners

JPI's Washington DC Reasearch:

"Crime Statistics and the Washington D.C. 'Crime Emergency:' What is the real 'crisis,' and how should we respond?"(September 29, 2006)

“Crime Emergency Fact Sheet” (July, 2006)

You are Safer Than you Think: Crime and Public Oinion on Fear of Crime (August, 2006)

Returning Adult Offenders in DC - A Road Map to Neighborhood Based Reentry, by Tim Roche, Vincent Schiraldi, and Jason Ziedenberg (April, 2002)

Half-Truths: The Complicated Story of D.C.'s Halfway House, by Vincent Schiraldi, Jason Ziedenberg (July, 1999)

Trading Classrooms for Cell Blocks - Destructive Policies Eroding D.C. Communities - by Tara-Jen Ambrosio and Vincent Schiraldi (February, 1997)