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How a Colorado town is untangling behavioral health care from the criminal justice system

Sady Swanson

March 22, 2021 |

Coloradoan |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fort Collins, Colorado

Acting on a recognition that police and the criminal justice system are too involved in responses to mental health and substance abuse crises, UCHealth formed mental health response teams that partner with Fort Collins police on such calls. In about 80% of calls the teams handled, no arrests were made while people received treatment or were referred to needed services. This program plus one that diverts certain criminal cases into treatment, which can result in dismissal of charges, have built-in drawbacks but have begun de-emphasizing criminal-justice remedies when people need other help.

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Juvenile (in)justice

Tennessee Watson Eda Uzunlar

March 20, 2021 |

Reveal |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Mitchell, South Dakota

Five years after South Dakota replaced a failing, punitive juvenile justice system that emphasized incarceration and probation with approaches focused on rehabilitation and local services for youth, the state's investment has paid off in far lower recidivism, incarceration, and expense. Counties have financial, justice, and moral incentives to follow the evidence of what works and help teens improve their lives. The state also keeps the data needed to track what is working. Neighboring Wyoming does the opposite on all counts, and it has the wrecked lives and high costs to show for it.

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A month into pilot program, Portland Street Response Team brings hope to the streets

Laural Porter

March 19, 2021 |

KGW-TV |

Broadcast TV Talk Show |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

In its first month of operation, Portland Street Response Team began intervening with people on the streets who are experiencing substance abuse or mental health problems. The program, modeled on Eugene, Oregon's CAHOOTS program, provides counseling and paramedic services on 911 calls that once were handled only by police or fire officials. The pilot program is limited to one neighborhood and daytime hours, but will expand if results continue to show positive impacts. The target neighborhood was chosen for its cultural diversity and large numbers of people experiencing homelessness.

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How a Nigerian security guard used football to end tribal conflict

Kelechukwu Iruoma

March 18, 2021 |

TRT World |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Nigeria, Port Harcourt, River State

A series of four football competitions in 2017-18 brought peace to two communities whose land dispute had led to violence. In the absence of a government response, the chief security officer of the Igbesikala-Ama, a minority group, put his peacemaking training to work to recruit teams from eight communities to participate. Included were people from the two communities in conflict and members of the youth "cults" who had done the fighting at their elders' instigation. The competition brought an end to the violence, though a lack of money put an end to the football competitions.

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New legal clinic concentrates on cases of women languishing in the system for crimes against alleged abusers

Annie Sweeney

March 16, 2021 |

Chicago Tribune |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Illinois

The Women and Survivors Project provides legal representation to women imprisoned for crimes that stemmed from histories of abuse. Nearly all incarcerated women have suffered violent abuse. Many end up punished for fighting back or when their abuser forces them to participate in his crimes, but their defenses often get overlooked in court. The project so far has helped free five women by getting judges or parole officials to reconsider their cases, including one woman convicted of first-degree murder. It has dozens more cases in the pipeline.

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‘Meeting people where they're at': How mobile crisis-response teams work

Charnel Anderson

March 15, 2021 |

TVO |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Thunder Bay, Ontario

Thunder Bay police formed IMPACT (Integrated Mobile Police Assessment Crisis Team), pairing crisis responders with mental health expertise with police officers to respond 24/7 to people experiencing mental health crises. Instead of defaulting to police responses, which risk the use of force and often land people in custody or a hospital, the teams often are able to get people connected to needed social and health services. So far the team has managed to divert about 40 percent of calls to helping services.

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How Norway's Prisons Have Weathered a Pandemic

Ted Alcorn

March 12, 2021 |

Think Global Health |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Norway

When Covid-19 threatened to disrupt Norway's correctional system, the country's prisons and jails were quick to pivot their practices to protect those who were incarcerated. Although it helped that the country's correctional system was already known for being "small, responsive, and humane," more protocols were put into place to allow some who were incarcerated to complete their sentence at home, while others were provided with iPads to decrease isolation while visits were restricted. So far, only 60 cases of Covid-19 have been reported throughout the entire prison system.

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‘I thought I was gonna die in prison.' How COVID is opening NC prison gates.

Virginia Bridges

March 12, 2021 |

The Charlotte Observer |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, North Carolina

Three incarcerated people and a coalition of social justice groups sued North Carolina over its prison COVID-19 policies, winning a settlement that is accelerating releases from prison that began at the start of the pandemic. The state's prison population is already 17% lower than it was before the pandemic. Under the settlement, 3,500 more people will be granted early releases, which have begun to occur, under new criteria that changed prison rules to recognize the urgency of getting people away from a virus breeding ground.

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How COVID Impacts Education — Prison Literature Club Adapts During COVID Lockdowns

Annakai Hayakawa Geshlider

March 11, 2021 |

Rafu Shimpo |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Quentin, California

An educational program called ROOTS (Restoring Our Original True Selves) taught at San Quentin prison in Marin County, California, has transformed into the Literature Club due to the pandemic and has reached other nearby prisons. The Literature Club, started by the Asian Prisoner Support Committee in Oakland, pairs people who are incarcerated with people outside, and they exchange emails to update each other on their reading progress and reflections. "More than a reading group, it’s a supportive space where emotions are openly discussed."

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Social Workers Instead of Police? Denver's 911 Experiment Is a Promising Start

Alissa Walker

March 10, 2021 |

Curbed New York |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

Four years after pairing social workers with police officers on certain nonemergency calls, Denver's STAR program began dispatching a mental-health clinician and paramedic as sole first responders when health and social services are needed rather than arrests, jail, and the risk of police violence. The program in its first six months, though limited by geography and hours, handled 748 calls without any police involvement. Police, in fact, are relaying many of the calls that STAR takes. STAR teaches other large cities useful lessons, but it's only as good as the local mental-health infrastructure.

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