Roy Austin, Jr., who runs @howardlawai.bsky.social, is trying to ensure #AI is used safely and responsibly in the criminal justice system. On our latest episode of #NewThinking, Austin argues that AI isn’t so much a story about technology as it is about people. Listen today. ⤵️

What if the key to safety is the environment around us? 💡 Better lighting 🛝 New parks and playgrounds 🛠️ Long-overdue repairs That's the basis our Neighborhood Safety Initiatives team operates on, elevating voices of NYCHA residents themselves to work toward their own community safety solutions. ⤵️

AI is already shaping the justice system, but how do we ensure it's used responsibly? Learn about how lessons learned from the use of risk assessments can inform adoption of AI in the justice space. ⤵️

How do we ensure #AI helps, rather than sets back, the cause of fairness and justice? Roy Austin Jr., director at Howard Law Artificial Intelligence Initiative, explores this question on our latest episode of #NewThinking. Listen now. 🎙️

In the midst of an acute housing crisis, outreach teams with our Community Ambassadors program in Syracuse are supporting their neighbors in a unique way. ⤵️ Learn more today: https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/syracuse-community-ambassadors-help-their-neighbors-affordable-housing-crisis/

NEW: A reform that helped hundreds of New Yorkers get out of life-threatening conditions in jail serves as a valuable model for safe and effective alternatives to incarceration, according to our new analysis. 📊

Restorative justice circles address harm and conflict by inviting everyone involved to really listen to each other. But what do these circles actually look like in practice? ⤵️

Reducing the use of incarceration and implementing new approaches can *strengthen* public safety, our new report finds. ⤵️

Happy publication day to @galvinalmanza.bsky.social! Check out our recent podcast episode where we discuss her new book "The Price of Mercy: Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender’s Search for Justice in America." Out today at your local bookstore! 📚

When Twyla Carter started working as a public defender, her mission was simple—to be an advocate for people whose voices had been taken away. Today, she leads @legalaidnyc.bsky.social, the largest and oldest nonprofit law firm in the country. Yet her fundamental mission hasn’t changed. ⤵️

In 2025, as communities across the country faced unprecedented challenges, we continued to build bridges between systems, community members, and the people most impacted.  Check out our impact report today. ⤵️

The Society for Professional Journalists and Prison Journalism Project are accepting submissions for the third annual Stillwater Awards. The deadline: Feb. 16. Nominate your favorite incarcerated writer!

WATCH NOW: Our Strong Starts program spotlighted at the New York State Unified Court System 2026 State of the Judiciary, presented by Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson. ⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTRS...

With their decades of experience, two new appointments are well positioned to protect the safety and well-being of those on Rikers Island. Yet the only way to ensure dignity and safety for all New Yorkers is to close Rikers for good. The path toward that goal is complex, but clear. ⬇️

How can we help people flourish within systems that are often associated with punishment? Our Red Hook Community Justice Center is a longstanding example of what that can look like, building pathways to support both for people charged with crimes and others seeking services in the community. ⤵️

Gun violence interrupters, like those at our Save Our Streets programs in Brooklyn and the Bronx, have been making NYC safer for decades. Now, they might see their work go even further under @mayor.nyc.gov's proposed changes to how the city tackles public safety issues. ⤵️ @nyamnews.bsky.social.

The Manhattan Felony Alternative-to-Incarceration Court is one of the first in the country to offer community-based treatment rather than prison in a wide range of cases. In UC Law Journal, Grace Y. Li analyses the program and explores how it opens new possibilities for responding to crime. ⤵️

Treatment courts offer people struggling with substance use a chance to find services and care instead of incarceration. Yet research hasn’t always kept pace with how these programs have evolved in recent years. Our new research aims aims to address that gap.⤵️

This is the thing that drives me nuts - governments and experts who insist that the problems of our criminal court system are unfixably complex, when in fact many of the best solutions are staring us right in the face.

“The data on our criminal court system reflects a very intuitive reality: when you’re using violence, lack of opportunity, trauma, to try to get people to thrive, it’s not happening!” - @galvinalmanza.bsky.social Listen to the full conversation today. ⤵️

Explore how justice practitioners can improve everyday interactions to build trust and ensure accountability. ⤵️ criminaljustice.cityofnewyork.us/reports/roun...

Happening this Thursday, 1/22! ➡️ Register here: jjay-cuny.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Revisit our policy brief from last year, which makes the case for drawing a firm line when it comes to using #AI in decisions that could impact people’s liberty or cause serious harm. https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/dos-and-donts-ai-criminal-justice-system/

"This was an essential puzzle piece that was missing from the bigger picture of what the young people needed," Project Director of our Bronx Community Justice Center Deymis Baquero said. @abc7ny.bsky.social: abc7ny.com/post/loyalty...

For 25 years, our Harlem Community Justice Center has helped people access justice and secure a better future. Today, it served as the backdrop for @mayor.nyc.gov's appointment of Afua Atta-Mensah as the new Chief Equity Officer and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice.

📣 *Happening now* 📣 in Harlem’s historic courthouse, and the home of our Harlem Community Justice Center, Mayor Zohran Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov making major personnel announcement: youtu.be/fNVDPV_a39s

As a founding partner of the newly launched AI and Justice Consortium, we are proud to work as bridge builders between tech companies and the justice system to make sure we get #AI right in the justice space. Join the Consortium for their first panel in collaboration with @johnjayrec.bsky.social. ⤵️

We've been serving Harlemites for more than two decades at our Harlem Community Justice Center. Later today, watch as @mayor.nyc.gov Zohran Mamdani makes a major personnel announcement from the historic Harlem Community Justice Center courtroom.⤵️ 📍 Find the stream here: www.nyc.gov/main?utm_med...

It's me! And yes I have some ideas. Take your mind off ~everything else~ and come think about something constructive <3

🚨 Our new report in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) answers a central question in today’s public safety debate: We don’t need to choose between keeping communities safe and building a more fair and just system. ⬇️ for takeaways and recommendations.

With a 60% recidivism rate, it’s clear the criminal justice system isn’t working. ⬇️ Listen as @galvinalmanza.bsky.social explores what her long career as a public defender and being co-founder and executive director of @partnersforjustice.bsky.social taught her about how we solve the crisis.

Mass incarceration takes a tremendous toll on communities across the country. Yet misconceptions about crime and incarceration often block the path to implementing common-sense solutions. Here are three core problems that need to be addressed and practical responses to help us move forward. ⤵️

Restorative justice circles are meant to address harm and conflict by inviting everyone involved to really listen to each other. But what do these circles actually look like in practice? https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/what-is-a-restorative-justice-rj-circle/

Like any important reform, there are myths about restorative justice that make it hard to separate fact from fiction. Here are four common misconceptions about restorative justice and why they miss the mark. ⤵️ https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/restorative-justice-rj-myths-facts/

@news12.bsky.social rode along with our Community Care van to find out more about the on-the-go check-ins and services available for people awaiting trial. Joe, a participant, says this approach "keeps people out of jail. It gives them an opportunity to fix their life without being incarcerated.” 👇

How do we support those whose lives are spent supporting others? Hear from Ruth O'Sullivan and our team as they discuss the realities of vicarious trauma in community justice work and why support matters now more than ever. https://www.innovatingjustice.org/resources/vicarious-trauma-360/

Looking to catch up on some research you may have missed? Check out these 3 resources that give reformers new strategies to break cycles of rearrest and create a justice system that leaves people better off. ⤵️ https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/justice-system-reform-preventing-recidivism/

Travelling this holiday season and looking for something inspiring to listen to? Revisit our New Thinking episode featuring the real-life restorative justice story behind the hit Broadway show “Punch.” 🎧 https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/punch-broadway-true-story-podcast/

Every family deserves to live in a safe, decent home, not just during the holidays but all year round. In New York and beyond, our teams are building bridges and increasing access to housing justice in three key ways.⤵️ https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/safe-healthy-housing-holiday-outages/

“We’re putting ourselves in a community where there’s a feeling of security and safety, in an area that feels a lot more familiar,” says Curtis Huggins, who helps run the new community office. https://www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/pretrial-community-justice-east-new-york/

“That’s what keeps me going—knowing that the work we’re doing is meaningful and that we are making an impact.” Thaddeus Canty, Project Director at Red Hook Community Justice Center, discusses what brought him to the work, overcoming challenges with empathy, and the future of community justice.

Over the past five years, Syracuse’s Community Ambassadors have worked to keep more than 1,100 residents safely housed. They do that by serving as a bridge between residents, landlords, and city agencies amid widespread breakdowns in communication. ⤵️

Our Chief Executive Officer Courtney Bryan was recognized as a 2025 Nonprofit Power Player by amNewYork. 🎉 politicsny.com/power-lists/...

Help us build community justice this #GivingTuesday. Make a gift to join us in this life changing work. Whether it's $25, $50, $100, $250—any amount supports our mission! 🎁 www.innovatingjustice.org/donate/?c_sr...

Instead of responding to children and parents in isolation, Strong Starts does something unique and focuses on the relationship between them. ⤵️ www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/star...

We are proud to bring our vision of community justice to the Mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social transition team. We hope our nearly 30 years of experience crafting public safety solutions and building bridges between courts and communities will help make New York City safe and just for all.

When David, a single father, came to Family Court a decade ago with his then 1-year-old daughter Ovenia, the Strong Starts Court Initiative was a brand-new pilot program in the Bronx. 10 years later, the program has become a staple in family courts throughout New York City and upstate. ⤵️

With collaboration and care, we can transform the family court system in ways that are responsive to the unique needs of each family. www.innovatingjustice.org/updates/supp...

“Although gun violence and intimate partner violence often are seen as separate issues, they are overlapping and interdependent.” www.macfound.org/press/perspe...

Did you know that low-level misdemeanors make up over 80% of cases in the justice system? Drawing on insights from practitioners around the country, our policy brief highlights ways to help people charged with low-level offenses resolve their case and get back on their feet as quickly as possible.