Six Things To Read This Weekend
1) “The strongest predictor of future victimization is having been a victim in the past. [Yet,] one out of three victims receives no help after a crime.”
A new report from the Alliance For Safety and Justice (ASJ) argues that this failure to support crime survivors makes communities less safe. The full report is worth a read, but what’s novel is the focus on quantifying the resources needed to scale existing services and programs to a larger percentage of the population. By forecasting need in terms of a ratio (X per 100,000 people), the report provides a straightforward roadmap for lawmakers and advocates to follow. Here’s an example:
The report provides similar estimates for other interventions that increase public safety including: community violence intervention, mobile crisis responders, and re-entry programs:
2) “What Works To Reduce Violent Crime”
That’s the title of a presentation that Texas A&M economist Jennifer Doleac gave to lawmakers in New Mexico this week on evidence-based strategies for reducing violent crime. Three highlights:
Access to Mental Health Care. “Increasing access to mental health care prevents violent crime: In several states, expanding Medicaid to include low-income, childless adults reduces violent crime … [For example, in South Carolina,] removing young adults from Medicaid at age 19 increases [the] likelihood of incarceration in the next two years by 15%.” Read the full study: How Better Access To Mental Health Care Can Reduce Crime; Elisa Jacome, Stanford Institute For Economic Policy Research.
Summer Jobs Programs for Kids. “[There is] lots of evidence that Summer Youth Employment Programs reduce violent crime …. Why do summer jobs work? …. It’s not just giving teens something to do during the summer. [The] effects last long after summer jobs end … [The] mechanisms seem to be some combo of: Giving teens a glimpse of a different path, giving them something different to aspire to, [and the fact that workplace] supervisors serve as informal mentors who help teens learn how to interact with adults, handle workplace disagreements, etc…” Here are results from randomized controlled trials of the effects of summer jobs on violent crime in three cities:
[Read the studies here: Chicago | Boston | NYC]
Post-Lead Exposure Intervention Programs. “Exposure to lead in early childhood increases violence later (as teens / young adults) … [But,] for kids [who were] already exposed [to lead, the] CDC recommended intervention for young children with high blood-lead-levels reduces the likelihood of a future violent crime arrest by over 60% … [The] intervention includes a caseworker, nutrition advice (consuming calcium can help block lead absorption), and sometimes lead abatement (e.g. replacement of windows).” Read the full study: Life after Lead: Effects of Early Interventions for Children Exposed to Lead; Stephen B. Billings and Kevin T. Schnepel, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. And here is a visualization of the (stunning) effects of these post-exposure intervention programs:
3) Second-Chance Hiring
When you think about criminal justice reform, life insurance companies are probably not front of mind. But, meet Nyra Jordan, Director of Social Impact Investment at American Family Insurance. In a Fast Company article last week, Jordan details how the Fortune 500 insurance company is fostering second-chance hiring within its 10,000+ staff. Jordan writes that providing economic stability through a good paying, stable job is not only the right thing for businesses to do to support the nearly 70 million people who have some sort of criminal record, but it’s also a smart strategy for reducing crime and an effective bottom-line booster for businesses struggling to hire in an economy where over 10 million jobs are left unfilled. As Jordan explains, American Family Insurance is doing more than hiring formerly incarcerated people. The company has been lobbying Wisconsin lawmakers to enact a Clean Slate Law that would automate criminal record clearance, making it easier for formerly incarcerated individuals to land a job.
Video more your jam? Here’s Nyra Jordan’s TED Talk—4 Steps To Hiring Fairly—And Supporting Criminal Justice Reform.
4) New Study: Safe Consumption Sites Are Reducing Overdoses
A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that both of the overdose prevention sites operating in New York City effectively reduced overdoses and decreased public drug consumption during their respective first two months in operation. These results come amidst a particularly deadly time for overdoses in both New York City and the nation, and a new optimism for overdose prevention sites in the wake of the Biden Administration signaling that the federal government would not intervene to shut down local sites.
Related Reading: A California bill that would legalize safe consumption sites looks poised to pass the California legislature this session.
5) “All I needed was a chance … The community helped me stand up again … It gave me a job and that’s all I needed.”
That’s a key quote in the Houston Chronicle from Leroy Allen, who participated in a pilot program in Harris County, Texas, which provided $15 per hour to unhoused people to perform public cleaning projects “including covering graffiti, pressure washing county facilities and painting.” County Commissioner (and former Sheriff) Adrian Garcia explained that the “program is designed with a low barrier to entry in mind—there are no background checks or drug tests, and participants are not penalized for missing days … Once in the program, participants are provided with breakfast, lunch and resources, such as healthcare services, medication, help with housing applications and connections to job opportunities.” Deeming the pilot a success, the county recently allocated $2 million earlier this month (which is roughly 13x the budget of the pilot program) to expand the program.
6) “We need to invest in mental health and substance use treatment services, crisis responders, and social workers to reduce the burden on police officers and prevent violent crime. We need to expand community violence interventions – led by trusted messengers breaking the cycle of violence and trauma.”
That’s a quote from a White House fact sheet released yesterday detailing President Biden’s proposed Safer America Plan. More from the fact sheet: “The Plan establishes a new $15 billion grant program called Accelerating Justice System Reform that cities and states can use over the next 10 years to advance strategies that will: (1) prevent violent crime and/or (2) ease the burden on police officers by identifying non-violent situations that may merit a public health response or other response. It also invests an additional $5 billion in evidence-based community violence intervention programs.”
Related Reading: The Center For American Progress just published an explainer on how “Community-Based Violence Interruption Programs Can Reduce Gun Violence.”
