Press Releases
05/27/2015
Gov. Malloy: Connecticut Receives MacArthur Foundation Award to Reduce the Use of Jails
(HARTFORD, CT) - The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today announced that the State of Connecticut is one of 20 jurisdictions selected to receive a $150,000 grant to create a fairer, more effective local 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.
Connecticut will use the award to support Governor Dannel P. Malloy's Second Chance Society initiative to give non-violent offenders a better chance for job and housing opportunities.
Connecticut was chosen following a highly competitive selection process that drew applications from nearly 200 jurisdictions from 45 states. The Safety and Justice Challenge competition supports jurisdictions across the country seeking to create more just and effective local justice systems that improve public safety, save taxpayer money, and yield better outcomes.
The 20 jurisdictions selected will work with expert consultants to develop a plan for local justice system improvement. In 2016, as many as ten of these jurisdictions will receive a second round of funding - between $500,000 to $2 million annually - to implement their plans over two years.
"In Connecticut, we have proven you can be both tough on crime while being smart about it," Governor Malloy said. "We have seen our crime rates drop to a 40-year low while we have reduced our prison population to an all-time low. We are also working to give our non-violent offenders a second chance at a better job, better housing and better opportunities for their family to break the cycle of poverty and crime. We are proud to receive this award because it highlights that Connecticut is on the leading edge for criminal justice reform."
"Nearly 200 diverse jurisdictions responded to our challenge, reflecting nationwide interest in reducing over-incarceration," Julia Stasch, President of the MacArthur Foundation, said. "Each of the sites selected has demonstrated the motivation, collaboration, and commitment needed to make real change in their local justice systems. We hope their local efforts will model effective and safe alternatives to the incarceration status quo for the rest of the country."
Despite growing national attention to the large number of Americans confined in state and federal prisons, significantly less attention has been paid to local justice systems, where the criminal justice system primarily operates and where over-incarceration begins. Jail populations have more than tripled since the 1980s, as have cumulative expenditures related to building and running them. According to recent research from the Vera Institute of Justice, nearly 75 percent of the population of both sentenced offenders and pretrial detainees are in jail for nonviolent offenses such as traffic, property, drug, or public order violations. Further, low-income individuals and communities of color disproportionately experience the negative consequences of incarceration.
Under Governor Malloy's leadership, Connecticut has seen crime drop to a 40-year low while violent crime and the prison population have also declined significantly.
Information about the selected jurisdictions, as well as news, research, and events related to the Safety and Justice Challenge, will be published on www.SafetyandJusticeChallenge.org.
About the MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology affects children and society.
More information about the Foundation's work, including in the justice field, is available at www.macfound.org.
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