New York City Criminal Justice Agency

THE PROPOSED INTERVENTION SEEKS TO REDUCE CRIME THROUGH IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING THE UNMET NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS RELEASED PRETRIAL VIA VOLUNTARY SUPPORTIVE REFERRALS TO COMMUNITY SERVICE PROVIDERS. INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ARRESTED OFTEN HAVE A HOST OF UNMET NEEDS, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, UNDER OR UNEMPLOYMENT, FOOD INSECURITY, HOUSING INSTABILITY, AND MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES. MANY PRETRIAL INTERVENTIONS SEEK TO ADDRESS RISK AND RESPONSIVITY FACTORS, YET OVERLOOK CRITICAL NEEDS TRADITIONALLY VIEWED AS NON-CRIMINOGENIC. HOWEVER, RESEARCH SUGGESTS THERE ARE PRETRIAL NEEDS ASSOCIATED WITH PRETRIAL OUTCOMES (I.E., FAILURE-TO-APPEAR OR RE-ARREST); THIS EMERGING EVIDENCE UNDERGIRDS THE INTERVENTION. FURTHERMORE, THIS INTERVENTION WILL LEVERAGE EVIDENCE ON THE EFFICACY OF PEER SERVICES AND IN-PERSON COURT INTERACTIONS TO MEET CLIENT NEEDS AND IMPROVE PERCEPTIONS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE AND INSTITUTIONAL TRUST. INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 22, SUMMARILY ARRESTED IN NYC, WHOSE CASES WERE RELEASED ON THEIR OWN RECOGNIZANCE AND CONTINUED AT ARRAIGNMENT, THAT CJA HAS A PHONE NUMBER FOR AND THAT DID NOT RECEIVE A PERFECT SCORE ON CJA’S PRETRIAL RELEASE ASSESSMENT WILL BE RANDOMLY PLACED IN EITHER A CONTROL GROUP TO RECEIVE TREATMENT AS USUAL (I.E., STANDARD COURT DATE NOTIFICATIONS) OR IN ONE OF THE TWO INTERVENTION GROUPS TO RECEIVE EITHER A TEXT MESSAGE OR A TEXT AND IN-PERSON POST-ARRAIGNMENT CONVERSATION WITH A TRAINED OUTREACH STAFF MEMBER WITH LIVED EXPERIENCE IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM. THE TEXT MESSAGE WILL INCLUDE A LINK FOR A CJA RESOURCE GUIDE AND AN OPPORTUNITY FOR TEXT RECIPIENTS TO TEXT BACK FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONALIZED HELP. THE IN-PERSON INTERVENTION WILL HAPPEN DIRECTLY POST-ARRAIGNMENT, WHERE THE OUTREACH STAFF MEMBER WILL CONDUCT A STANDARDIZED MINI-NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND PROVIDE APPROPRIATE REFERRALS AND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR FUTURE FOLLOW-UP. THE EFFICACY OF THE INTERVENTION WILL BE TESTED BY THE IDENTIFIED RESEARCH PARTNER, DATA COLLABORATIVE FOR JUSTICE (DCJ), THROUGH A RANDOMIZED CONTROL TRIAL AND FINDINGS WILL BE DISSEMINATED TO THE FIELD. THIS SIMPLE YET MEANINGFUL INTERVENTION HAS PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PRETRIAL FIELD AT LARGE AND THE POTENTIAL FOR REPLICABILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY IN JURISDICTIONS OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY.

LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES AND SERVICE NEEDS OF THOSE WHO ARE DETAINED PRETRIAL BUT ULTIMATELY HAVE THEIR CASES DISMISSED OR ACQUITTED. THIS IS A UNIQUE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO, DESPITE THE EXPERIENCE OF TRAUMA AND HARMS ASSOCIATED WITH PRETRIAL DETENTION, ARE LIKELY NOT CONSIDERED UNDER THE TRADITIONAL “VICTIM” UMBRELLA GIVEN THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM VIA ARREST AND PRETRIAL DETENTION. WHAT IS MORE, IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER THEY CAN ACCESS TRADITIONAL CJ-RELATED SERVICES POST-DETENTION AND WHETHER THE SERVICES ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR UNIQUE NEEDS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROJECT IS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS OF THIS INNOCENT BUT DETAINED PRETRIAL POPULATION. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED IN COLLABORATION WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER THE SWEET INSTITUTE AND BY USING A MULTI-STEP APPROACH THAT INCLUDES BOTH TRAUMA-INFORMED IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WITH INDIVIDUALS THAT EXPERIENCED PRETRIAL DETENTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCANS IN THE FORM OF FOCUS GROUPS WITH KEY COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND STAKEHOLDERS. THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS WILL EXPLORE THEIR EXPERIENCES AS IT RELATES TO THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS WHAT NEEDS AND ASSISTANCE THEY MIGHT NEED BECAUSE OF THEIR DETENTION. THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN WILL BE CONDUCTED IN COLLABORATION WITH EXISTING SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK CITY TO EXAMINE WHETHER THE SERVICE NEEDS IDENTIFIED IN THE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS CAN BE PROVIDED BY EXISTING ORGANIZATIONS OR WHETHER A NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THIS GROUP NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED. THIS PROPOSAL ALSO SEEKS PRIORITY CONSIDERATION 1A, AS THIS PROPOSAL ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE PRETRIAL DETAINED AND DISMISSED POPULATION IN NEW YORK CITY LARGELY CONSISTS OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MALE, BLACK, AND YOUNG. THIS DISPROPORTIONALITY IN PREVALENCE NECESSITATES THE DISPROPORTIONATELY IN BEARING ITS HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES. TO THIS END, A CENTRAL AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO “ADDRESS [THE] POTENTIAL INEQUITIES AND BARRIERS TO EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, AND/OR CONTRIBUTE TO GREATER ACCESS TO SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED AND HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED POPULATIONS” BY FOCUSING ON THE SERVICE NEEDS AND EXPERIENCES OF THOSE DETAINED PRETRIAL BUT DISMISSED. THE FINDINGS FROM THIS PROJECT WILL BE USED TO PROVIDE A ROADMAP FOR POLICY MAKERS AND PRACTITIONERS ON HOW THIS POPULATION CAN BE BEST IDENTIFIED AND SERVED BY THE COMMUNITY. IMPORTANTLY, THE SOLUTIONS PUT FORTH WILL BE GUIDED BY THE EXPERIENCES AND NEEDS IDENTIFIED BY THOSE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS CJ-RELATED HARM AND BY THE EXPERIENCES AND EXPERTISE OF THOSE SEEK TO SERVE THEM.