Criminal Justice Reform addresses structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country. Mass incarceration disproportionally impacts the poor, and people of color, and does not make us safer. In an attempt to balance safety and justice for those accused of a crime, many jurisdictions have enacted new criminal laws. Some examples of this new approach include the elimination of cash bail, decriminalization of actions previously treated as crimes, and refusal to prosecute persons arrested for crimes. In recent years, New York, San Francisco, and Portland are the cities that have led the way in enacting new criminal laws that aim to address these issues. But really how effective is …show more content…
According to the article “The Criminal Justice Reform Act: One Year Later.”, in May 2016, the Council passed historic legislation to create more proportional penalties for certain low-level, non-violent offenses. Once it was signed into law, it led to a 90 percent drop in criminal court summonses. Due to this drastic drop, the City helped prevent minor offenses from leading to an arrest. Preventing arrests saves many people from the severe impacts of being arrested, even with no prior interaction with the criminal justice system. The data in this article shows that there are 50,854 fewer criminal summons, 50,854 fewer cases clogging our courts, and 50,854 fewer New Yorkers in jail. In addition to that, there are 50,854 more people with their families and 50,854 more people at work. The 90 percent drop in summons due to the enacting of this law shows that it is very effective in reducing low-level offenses. This not only saves the state money but also citizens from unnecessary