Instead of Jail, Court Fines Cut to Fit the Wallet

As it enters into a consent decree with the Department of Justice, Cleveland looks to Detroit to learn what may lie ahead because that city recently emerged from a consent decree after 12 years following revelations of corruption and excessive force by police. Detroit officers now wear body microphones and undergo more regular training on weapons and cultural awareness. Fatal shootings by police have decreased, but there are still hundreds of complaints against the department and much remains to be done.

Partnering police agencies and advocates for survivors of sexual assault in cities like Philadelphia and New York City has helped to solve some of the difficulties investigators have faced in cases of sexual assault while also holding investigators accountable for their attitudes and follow-through. Audits by advocates have "changed rape investigations nationwide" and provide a model for other cities.

By rapidly instituting mandatory testing of all inmates at a covid-19-stricken federal prison and segregating ill inmates, authorities reduced the number of new infections within weeks. At one point, nearly 70% of the inmates at the Terminal Island federal prison in San Pedro, California, had tested positive for the coronavirus as it raced through a facility where inmates normally interact constantly in crowded communal areas. As of mid-May, eight inmates had died and more than 500 had recovered.

The Minneapolis Police Department’s repeated failures to reform a broken police-discipline system underscore the lack of public trust that exploded in local and nationwide protests after an officer with a troubled record killed a handcuffed suspect. An analysis of police-reform efforts in the city, and statewide, show how vows to do better have been undermined by official reluctance to remove bad officers from duty, either through administrative or legislative failure. Among the unaddressed problems: a "coaching" system that allows officers to avoid suspension but is riddled with problems.

Dalila Reynoso's local activism blossomed into a full-blown watchdog role when COVID-19 began to spread through the Smith County, Texas, jail. The marriage of criminal justice reform and pandemic safety, vested in one woman, mirrors much larger court watch and jail watch projects in larger cities. For her part, Reynoso became a conduit for complaints about jail conditions. Thanks to her diplomatic skills, and a receptive sheriff's openness to criticism and change, the pair's efforts lowered virus cases from 52 to three within three weeks and lowered the jail population by more than 150 people.

In national discussions on incarceration, the conversation often focuses on the direct impact of services and reentry initiatives on the prisoner while forgetting to fully discuss the effects of these systems on families and friends, argues one Indiana University psychologist. A mentoring program in Indiana is reaching out to some of the 5 million U.S. children with an incarcerated parent by pairing students with professionals in the community.

With support from Accountability Lab and Transparency International, seven countries have held “Integrity Idol” contests to recognize their most honest and helpful public servants. Winners have become people others want to emulate. The contests help fight corruption and inspire civic participation.

The forensics-based human rights movement uses forensic science to identify victims of genocide and political violence buried in mass graves, allowing their families to arrange proper burial and bolstering collective history around these events. The strategy has been particularly effective in countries with state-imposed silence around past atrocities, such as Spain, where more than 9,000 bodies have been exhumed since 2000.

The Udeme project trains student journalists to track government constituency projects and write investigative reports holding officials accountable when planned projects are stalled or poorly executed. The participants, called U-monitors, also meet with local community members to inform them about the budget process and help them track constituency projects themselves.

The Election Registration Information Center allows states to check for duplicate voter registrations across state lines and identify voters who have moved or died. At one time, a total of 33 states participated in the database, but several have since left the partnership as a result of disinformation about how the effort is funded.