NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans announced it has joined the White House’s Data-Driven Justice Initiative (DDJ) by committing to using data-driven strategies to help break the cycle of incarceration. New Orleans is one of 67 city, county and state governments that has committed to using these strategies to divert low-level offenders with mental illness out of the criminal justice system and change approaches to pre-trial incarceration, so that low-risk offenders no longer stay in jail simply because they cannot afford a bond. City reps said New Orleans has been committed to addressing these populations through multiple initiatives, including its launch of a Pretrial Services program in 2012 and a $1.5 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation to reduce the jail population through the Safety and Justice Challenge.
“New Orleans is the most incarcerated city in the most incarcerated state in the most incarcerated country in the world,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the local jail population was about 7,000 and when my administration took office in 2010, it was down to about 3,400. After years of hard work, we have reduced it to about 1,600 today, but we have a long way to go. With the White House’s assistance, we will be able to develop ways to better utilize our collective resources to make our justice system more functional. That means no longer warehousing low-risk offenders in jail. I want to thank President Obama for making this a priority.”
The Obama Administration recently issued a call to action asking private-sector, philanthropic and nonprofit organizations to take new steps to develop a smarter, more data-driven criminal justice system.
Many organizations have responded to this call to action with commitments to address the specific needs of communities adopting DDJ solutions. These commitments of support will enable DDJ communities to act more quickly to implement these solutions, accelerating progress toward safely reducing unnecessary incarceration.
City reps said organizations responding to the call to action are providing critical and targeted support in four key areas: data; diversion and coordinated services; research on what works and ongoing support and collaboration.
The innovative strategies, which have measurably reduced jail populations in several communities, help stabilize individuals and families, better serve communities and often save money in the process, City reps said.
The DDJ communities will implement the following strategies that have proven to be effective in reducing unnecessary incarceration in jails:
• Use data to identify and proactively break the cycle of incarceration. DDJ communities will bring data together from across criminal justice and health systems to identify the individuals with the highest number of contacts with police, ambulance, emergency departments, and other services, and link them to health, behavioral health and social services in the community, with a goal of reducing overreliance on emergency healthcare and encounters with the criminal justice system.
• Equip law enforcement and first responders with the tools they need to respond and divert. Recognizing that police officers, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and firefighters are often front-line responders to people experiencing mental health crises, DDJ communities will create systems and protocols to help effectively de-escalate crisis situations and safely divert people to the appropriate service providers instead of arresting them.
• Use data-driven, validated, pre-trial risk assessment tools to inform pre-trial release decisions. DDJ communities will work towards using objective, data-driven, validated risk-assessment tools to identify low-risk defendants held in jail and identify opportunities for their safe release.
With the support of the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, New Orleans has developed a plan to implement these strategies by focusing arrest and release decisions on risk and not financial ability; diverting people with mental health and substance abuse problems toward community-based services; increasing defense advocacy for pretrial arrestees; and improving data-sharing and coordination among all agencies and at all decision points, City reps said. The Obama Administration has committed to support the communities in the coalition by leveraging a community resources toolkit, improving outcomes for Veterans through mental health services and addressing individual needs through evidence-based interventions.
In April 2016, New Orleans received a $1.5 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to implement reforms to safely reduce the City’s jail population and address racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. The grant is a part of the Safety and Justice Challenge —the Foundation’s $75 million initiative to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.
New Orleans joins the coalition among cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco and Washington, DC.
For more information about The White House’s Call to Action click here.
