Vera Institute of Justice’s Post

After years of protests and community organizing, on June 30 California shut the doors on the last of its youth prisons, signaling the end of what was once the nation's largest network of these facilities. The model is also losing steam nationwide, as states from Connecticut to Maine slowly abolish youth prisons and replace them with a holistic restorative justice framework of collective care and support for young people. Despite this positive movement, however, we have failed, as a country, to acknowledge that young people of color are at risk of being insidiously caught in a web that extends far beyond the prison walls, regardless of how many detention facilities remain standing. While overall youth arrest and incarceration rates have declined over the past decade, young people of color are still surveilled, policed and separated from their families and communities more frequently than their white counterparts. Instead of investing in community resources, this pattern is often accompanied by a shoring up of government systems, programs and placements that further institutionalize, traumatize and isolate young people. https://lnkd.in/gfABdzuK

"According to Youth First, more than 20 states have closed one or more youth correctional facilities in the past five years alone. Fifteen states are down to just one large state-run facility, while another 18 have facilities running significantly under capacity." It is time for Illinois to join the 20 states that have closed at least one state-run youth center in the last 5 years and shut down the non-rehabilitative, adult-style prisons for youth that are still operating. https://lnkd.in/gAjjej7E

They should implement this programs in other cities with high crime rate.

BIGGEST MOMENTS OF 2023: Police, Prisons, and Racial Justice As prison conditions continue to deteriorate and racial inequities in policing persist, we keep fighting for common-sense criminal legal reform that brings racial justice and protects human dignity. We’ve continued our litigation efforts to close Copper Lake and Lincoln Hills youth prisons and to combat racist, unconstitutional practices by the Milwaukee Police Department, contested inhumane prison conditions and lockdowns while helping to make phone calls free at the Milwaukee County Jail, and launched an expansive campaign to teach Milwaukee residents – with a focus on Black youth – how to use their rights in police interactions, among other projects. We also offered resources and created a space for self-reflection and the opportunity to listen and learn from others by hosting our first Community Circle to engage those directly impacted. Mass incarceration and bloated budgets for ineffective, increasingly militarized policing continue to hurt Wisconsin communities – especially communities of color. Our elected officials need to prioritize investments to combat poverty, increase affordable housing, expand access to education and family-sustaining jobs, and other evidence-based policies that are proven to make us safer.

PEN America released their latest report yesterday, "Reading Between the Bars," during their first inaugural Prison Banned Books Week. Visit the link in the comments to access a social media toolkit that you can use to help bring attention to this critical issue. Also be sure to check out the report, which explains, ""As PEN America has stated previously, book banning and restrictions on literature must be opposed because when society accepts the basic premise that ideas and information can be a threat, it opens the door toward the suppression of learning and information more broadly. As a free expression organization, we are adamant that this standard must also apply to prisons. Carceral censorship should be opposed not only for its effect on incarcerated people, but because the limiting of information people can access is inherently undemocratic. Yet, there is common a dangerous acceptance of this idea when it comes to incarceration, particularly when it comes to ideas and books deemed controversial, challenging, or even dangerous." https://lnkd.in/e_Qy_nMa

The holidays, theoretically, are a time of reflection and, perhaps, forgiveness. It’s a time of warmth and relationships. Over the last several years, ELP has gained a rather strong toehold in the corrections and prison space. Our leadership academies are thoughtful and are meant to build a correctional officer who leads more than he or she supervises or manages. A funny trope that one senior warden said to us is that ELP is trying to bring the corrections industry kicking and screaming. into the 20th Century! The joke was that 19th-century management and supervision still exist today in many of our prisons and facilities. A 21st-century endeavor that’s now on our radar is the Bard Prison Initiative. Here’s a link: https://bpi.bard.edu/. Education, at its best, is liberating. Is there a better tool to combat recidivism than a structured and sound education? Of course, the mindset all starts with the supervisors at our nation’s jails and prisons. To get a boost into 21st century leadership, engage ELP partner and co-founder Robin Bichy. Reach her at robin@elpadvantage.com.

Learn more about the impact and utilization of Second Chance Pell on #highereducation access in prisons in Higher Education Today's blog post from Vera Institute of Justice. http://ow.ly/bx6n104OIaH

🔓📚 Education in prisons plays a crucial role in transforming lives. It offers inmates a beacon of hope and empowerment, guiding them towards self-improvement and successful reintegration into society. By providing access to academic courses, vocational training, and skill development programs, we equip individuals with the knowledge and tools necessary to rebuild their lives and enhance their employment prospects upon release. Education serves as a catalyst for personal growth, instilling a sense of purpose and self-worth. It not only imparts practical skills but also instills values, resilience, and a commitment to a brighter future. By investing in education within the prison system, we not only support individual rehabilitation but also contribute to the creation of responsible, informed citizens prepared for a successful life beyond bars. Want to learn more about the transformative impact of education in prisons? Check out the first comment! Join us in our mission to break the cycle of recidivism and create a brighter future for individuals in the prison system. Together, we can make a difference. 💪🌟 #EducationInPrisons #BreakingTheCycle #Empowerment

Most of these outdated institutions that need the most B&F repair funding could be closed and the inmates and staff moved to modern prisons (that would require substantially less upkeep) to save taxpayer money. The BOP also has many prison camps that have no fence!...put a monitor on those inmates and send them home (if they are not enough of a threat to put a fence up, then let them go home to family and get a job - if they are a threat, then put them behind a fence). The general public thinks this is not done because of the BOP. Not true, the reason the old outdated prisons and camps are not closed is because of politics. The Senators and congressmen in the districts gain power and control of money by having these institutions in their areas (same with Veterans hospitals, airports, military bases, etc). The politicians are the ones keeping these open and spending your hard won taxes for their own gain.

PEN America, through a FOIA request of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the departments of corrections in all 50 states and the District of Columbia censor literature, investigated the rationales for censoring books in prisons. The rationales are like those used to target public schools and libraries. Pen America published a comprehensive report in October of this year entitled “Reading Between the Bars.” State-banned prison book lists can contain thousands of titles, with all imprisoned persons prohibited from reading them across the state. Besides content, the sender, or the physical appearance of the reading material can cause the material to be banned. Some prisons require the prison administrator’s permission to approve a prisoner to receive materials. Other restrictions include limiting the number of books per month, the number of books a prisoner can have at one time, returning books to sender if not packaged according to their rules, and requiring books to be purchased from a state-approved business. This keeps friends, family members, churches, community groups, prison book programs, independent bookstores, and lesser-known publishers from sending books. It also prohibits free and used literature from being distributed.  The states with the most banned titles were Florida (22,825 titles up to September 2023), Texas (10,265 titles up to February 2023), Kansas (7,699 titles up to 2021), Virginia (7,204 titles up to 2022), and New York (5,356 titles as of 2019).  Another disturbing fact is that high-level prison officials are not responsible for creating the statewide banned lists. Instead, the mailroom staff decides what is to be banned. Mailroom staffing requires only a high school diploma. Prisons have a very high rate of turnover, so the staff deciding what is to be banned are often untrained. Mailrooms are often understaffed and only open for limited hours.  Seventy percent of prisoners are unable to read at even a fourth-grade level. If the prisoners have no books or education, then how are they going to stay out of prison when released? How are they to make a living? Literacy reduces recidivism rates. In California, they found that prisoners given access to higher education lowered recidivism by 43%, increased the chance of employment by 13%, and saved $5 for every $1 spent on education. #literacymatters, #literacyforall, #bookbans, #prison, #recividism