SJC Exchange Library

An Op-Ed written by Michael Jacobson and Dr. James Austin recently released and published in the Crime Report regarding recent declines in both the New York City jail population and reported crime. New York City, a MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge Phase 1 site, has produced amazing results with a jail population reduction from 22,000 to under 6,000 individuals. With this reduction, New York City’s incarceration rate is now by far the lowest in the country. More amazing is that the crime rate has plummeted even as the jail population continues to decrease. This is due to an array of pretrial diversion programs and community-based services. We can look to NYC as a model on how jail population and crime rates can be significantly reduced in tandem.