In this issue:
- CJCJ clients gain leadership skills and enjoy the outdoors
- Realignment and crime in 2014: California’s violent crime in decline
- Youth of color visit state representatives to discuss key legislation
CJCJ clients gain leadership skills and enjoy the outdoors
Justice-involved youth attend four-day overnight summer camp in Yosemite National Park
CJCJ’s Juvenile Justice Services staff and clients arrived at Camp Mather on August 20 for the annual Teen Outdoor Experience (TOE).
A partnership between the San Francisco’s Recreation & Parks, Juvenile Probation, Police Department, Street Violence Intervention Program,Department of Children, Youth and their Families, Mayor’s Office, and Unified School District, the Teen Outdoor Experience allows justice-involved youth ages 14 – 17 to visit one of the world’s most beautiful areas and build leadership skills for life and work through anger management, anti-bullying, and gender respect workshops.
Youth clients and staff from CJCJ’s Youth Justice Mentoring Program (YJM) and Juvenile Collaborative Reentry Team (JCRT) attended the four-day trip and participated in outdoor recreational activities, such as hiking, swimming, fishing, and team sports, while getting know community figures and law enforcement.
“The collaboration is really neat,” said JCRT Lead Coordinator, Daniel Reyes. “You have the police department and probation there to provide supervision, but also to show the human element of everything. Your P.O. might be playing football or baseball with you. It’s also very powerful for the providers and the people that work with these youth to see them how they are in a natural environment just having fun and being a kid.”
Camp Mather provides an opportunity for CJCJ clients and other youth who do not have access to nature to explore Yosemite with peers from different backgrounds and neighborhoods, be exposed to new experiences and people, and have fun while facing the unfamiliar.
Learn more about CJCJ’s direct service programs »
Realignment and crime in 2014: California’s violent crime in decline
CJCJ’s new report finds no causal relationship between Realignment and crime at the county level
The latest report authored by CJCJ’s Senior Research Fellow, Mike Males, examines the impact of Public Safety Realignment on county-level crime given the release of new data for 2014. Though the Realigned population has increased in almost every county, local crime rates vary widely across the state, showing no relationship between Realignment and county-level crime.
The report finds that since Realignment was implemented in 2011, statewide violent crime and property crime have generally decreased. However, this decline seems to be a continuation of the downward crime trend of the past two decades, and has not demonstrably been affected by Realignment.
At the county level, trends are less visible, especially when compared to the local Realigned population in each county. Though almost every county experienced a decrease in their rates of state prison commitments for non-violent offenses, there was no correlation with crime rates in the individual counties.
There were also no correlations between a larger Realigned population and motor vehicle theft, which some researchers connected to Realignment. In fact, motor vehicle theft was highly erratic between counties — for example, down 35 percent in Fresno County, and up 102 percent in Shasta County.
This report builds on CJCJ’s previous county-level analyses finding that no definitive conclusions can be drawn about the impact, if any, of Realignment on crime at this time.
Read the full report “Realignment and Crime in 2014: California’s Violent Crime in Decline” here »
Youth of color visit state representatives to discuss key legislation
The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color make community voices heard at the state capitol
On August 24, CJCJ and fellow members of the Alliance for Boys and Men of Colorattended the fifth annual hearing for theAssembly Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color. Approximately 300 young people of color rallied at the Capitol to meet with lawmakers and advocate for specific legislation.
At the hearing, the Assembly Select Committee heard from four panels discussing educational equity, health equity, public safety, jobs and the workforce, and how these issues affect boys and men of color. Youth leaders from across the state representing organizations includingOakland Boys and Men of Color, Santa Ana Boys and Men of Color, Building Healthy Communities, and Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition, testified before the Committee about their journeys and struggles, and advocated for community solutions.
Representatives of state agencies explained how current and future projects would strive to elevate the status of boys and men of color. Assembly Select Committee members then asked how they could support these projects and voiced concerns about lack of community involvement.
Assemblymember Cheryl Brown (District 47) remarked, “There needs to be a community-based solution because the community knows. I know that there are these program that are evidence-based, but the community knows, and that’s the evidence.”
After the hearing, youth and advocates met with state representatives from across California and discussed bills dealing with diverse issues — from increasing police accountability for racial profiling (AB 953), streamlining the juvenile record sealing process (AB 666), eliminating willful defiance suspensions in schools (AB 420), and ending solitary confinement in juvenile facilities (SB 124). CJCJ was honored to participate in these legislative meetings alongside passionate young people who care about the future of their communities.
Read more about the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color and other CJCJ collaborations here »