NEW ORLEANS — In 2015, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Foundation) launched the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), a robust initiative to reduce jail populations and racial and ethnic disparities in jails. Through the Safety and Justice Challenge, New Orleans has reduced its average daily jail population by 52%, more than any of the other 51 Safety and Justice Challenge jurisdictions.
“I am very proud of the work that my team has been doing to reduce the jail population in New Orleans,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “The Safety and Justice Challenge is just one of the ways we are working to reduce the jail population and improve our criminal justice system. All of the entities in the criminal justice system have a role to play towards our work in bettering the system. We can only do so much, and with a united front we stand a chance of changing it for the better.”
The Safety and Justice Challenge is supporting local leaders, individuals directly and most impacted by the justice system, and the broader community in New Orleans and across the country who are determined to address one of the greatest drivers of over-incarceration in America – the misuse and overuse of jails. New Orleans was first selected to join the Safety and Justice Challenge Network in 2015 and has since used the resources and funding provided by the initiative to implement evidence-based solutions.
As the incarceration capital of the world, it was imperative that New Orleans play its role in counteracting the overuse and misuse of local jails. Not only does the Safety and Justice Challenge reflect the local commitment of system actors and stakeholders to enact change, it also provides a blueprint for other cities. Most people who benefit from the Safety and Justice Challenge programs are not rearrested while enrolled in the programs and services.
The City will continue to build on efforts, in collaboration with local leaders and the community, to rethink the local criminal justice system, safely reduce the City’s jail population, and eliminate racial inequities.
These solutions include the pretrial release program, which utilizes a risk-based decision-making tool to assist local courts in setting bails that promote public safety, court appearances, and a reduction of recidivism of those pretrial defendants released on bond. Pretrial defendants are also provided bond advocates during first appearances to increase the use of releases on recognizance and nominal bonds.
The solutions also include diversion programs that focus on defendants in different points in the criminal justice system, including pre-arrest diversion and pre-trial diversion through the local prosecutor’s office, in addition, to warrant reduction strategies to eliminate eligible warrants and traffic attachments systemically. Additionally, an Interagency Coordination Specialist position was created to identify and resolve systemic issues that lead to unnecessarily long jail stays. The Safety and Justice Challenge also supported the creation of the Community Advisory Group, whose mission has been to assist and monitor the successful implementation of the strategies by holding city agencies and officials accountable to the Challenge plan.
New Orleans has developed a comprehensive plan for additional strategies and initiatives over the next two years to invest in a safer, more effective, and more equitable system. These include:
- Establishing a robust Ethnic and Racial Disparity Work Group of diverse government and community stakeholders to recommend policy changes to local governments with the goal of reducing disparities in the justice system;
- Expanding the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program beyond the pilot police district to ensure equitable pre-arrest diversion to community members;
- Institutionalizing continued problem-solving and assessment of justice system bottlenecks through the creation of an Interagency Coordination Specialist;
- Creation of a Jail Release Navigator position to reduce recidivism rates of individuals with mental health conditions;
- Sustaining the Pretrial Services Program through its transition from state to local operations at the New Orleans Criminal District Court, and continuing its success rate during the Covid-19 Pandemic, increasing the use of nominal bonds under $50, and as low as $5, issued by judges during first appearance.
- Expanding the Prosecutorial Diversion options to more defendants through expanded eligibility criteria;
- Continuing the success of the Public Defender at First Appearance Program, including bond advocacy and other services; and
- Maintaining the Community Advisory Group through the support of a full-time Coordinator position.
More than five years after its public launch, the Safety and Justice Challenge has grown into a collaborative of 51 jurisdictions in 32 states modeling and inspiring reforms to create more fair, just, and equitable local justice systems across the country.
More information about the work underway in New Orleans can be found on the Office of Criminal Justice Coordination’s webpage at nola.gov/ocjc, as well as www.SafetyandJusticeChallenge.org.
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