Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 1244 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

"Get In Front of the Beef"

Jo Piazza

April 22, 2021 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia's Cure Violence program uses violence interrupters whose street credibility can mediate disputes before they turn deadly. This program and a related group violence intervention program, focused deterrence, have been successful in certain neighborhoods. But the city's support has been inconsistent as competing priorities or lack of focus undercut the programs' effectiveness. Oakland's Ceasefire program provides an example of a long-term success in a marriage of law enforcement, community-led interventions, and data showing whom to target and what is working.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Restorative Justice Part 3: In Vermont, Restorative Justice Under Statute May Not Lead to Equitable Services

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Vermont

Reacting to troubling trends in incarceration in the 1980s, Vermont legislators created a system of community justice centers to give its justice system a distinct rehabilitative rather than punitive slant. The CJCs exist in every county and involve the community in repairing the harm from crimes, following a restorative justice approach. Though gaps in data on race mask Vermont's racial disparities in criminal justice, the system saves money and spares many people incarceration, while giving crime victims and communities a more direct say in how to hold people accountable for the harm they cause.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Restorative Justice Part 2: "There is no Champion”

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

In some New Hampshire counties, diversion programs give some people charged with generally low-level crimes the opportunity to make amends, get treatment for underlying problems, and move on in life without a criminal record. While data are spotty, one county showed that people who went through its program committed fewer offenses afterward. But a lack of statewide standards and funding means that such opportunities are not available uniformly.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Restorative Justice Part 1: Juvenile Court Diversion is Cheap and Effective, But Inconsistent Across NH

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

New Hampshire's 40-year-old system of diverting many juvenile prosecutions away from courts and incarceration, and into community-based restorative justice programs, has saved public money, lowered youth crime rates, and changed lives. By addressing root causes of lower-level offenses, the programs provide treatment to youth who apologize and atone for their offenses, and who then often perform community service projects to erase their arrest record. But there are many fewer resources now than at the program's start, creating an uneven and inequitable patchwork of available services statewide.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Would You Dine in This Prison?

Alasdair Lane

April 20, 2021 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom, London

The Clink operates in four British prisons, teaching haute-cuisine cooking skills and then helping its formerly incarcerated trainees establish productive lives once they're released. The training inside prison features restaurants that cater to the public, plus teaching the skills needed to find and keep a job on the outside. When graduates of the program showed the same inclination to commit more crimes as other formerly incarcerated people, the program provided more reentry supports that have contributed to much lower rates of re-offending. The program plans to expand to 70 more prisons in the UK.

Read More
Go to Original Story
In a roiled Minneapolis, schools are testing new model for safety

Chelsea Sheasley

April 20, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Washburn High School in Minneapolis is taking a different approach for in-school safety, one that doesn't rely on a police presence. The school district ended its contract with the Minneapolis Police Department and replaces School Resource Officers with civilian safety specialists, who are not uniformed, armed, and have no power of arrest. Instead, the specialists provide more community-centered services to visiting students who were disconnected, aiding with food distribution, and evaluate school safety plans.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Meet the scientists building a prison-to-STEM pipeline

Christina Couch

April 19, 2021 |

PBS NOVA |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The movement to promote science education and careers among people who are currently or formerly incarcerated is making slow but real progress. Programs like the National Science Foundation's STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings, and the restoration of Pell Grants in prisons, provide institutional support. But progress can be seen in smaller programs like the Prison Mathematics Project, begun by an incarcerated math whiz whose Italian mathematician mentor inspired him to overcome barriers to education. Another sign of progress: More states are "banning the box" in college applications.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Berke attributes Chattanooga's drop in gang violence to Violence Reduction Initiative

Rosana Hughes

April 19, 2021 |

Chattanooga Times Free Press |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Seven years after the creation of Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative, gang violence in the city is down by two-thirds even while other types of gun violence have increased. The program uses an approach called focused deterrence to target people suspected of being at highest risk of committing violence, offering them social services if they stop the violence. It got off to a slow start and has encountered numerous obstacles. But, while no formal evaluation proves that the initiative caused gang violence to decline, city officials believe that the correlation is no coincidence.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Restorative Justice in Indian Country

Michelle Chen

April 16, 2021 |

Dissent Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

Like standard drug courts, the Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court refers people facing drug-related criminal charges to substance abuse counseling as an alternative to punishment. But this court and other tribal wellness courts are steeped in indigenous customs, blended with restorative justice approaches, to emphasize rehabilitation based on trust, support, and native traditions. The threat of punishment looms over participants should they fail in their counseling program. But no one has been jailed in the past two years in the Penobscot program.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Las Vegas's Traffic School for Pedestrians

Taylor Moore

April 16, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Las Vegas, Nevada

In Las Vegas, pedestrians and drivers ticketed for unsafe behavior can get their fines voided by taking a three-hour class called PedSAFE. More than 2,800 people have taken the class and, say its sponsors from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, graduate with a better understanding of how to keep pedestrians safe on Las Vegas' wide, pedestrian-unfriendly streets. While helpful, the program does not address more long-lasting fixes, such as ending racially inequitable jaywalking enforcement and designing safer streets.

Read More
Go to Original Story