What happens when you bring a task force together including Democrats, Republicans, legislators, victims-rights advocates, county commissioners, law enforcement officers, and formerly incarcerated people? A list of 18 recommendations designed to reduce the jail population across the entire state. According to the original executive order the Michigan Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration was [...]
September brought great legislative advancements to the cause of criminal justice reform in Michigan, such as the passage of objective parole, the governor’s decision to ban the box on state job applications and movement toward raising the age for 17-year-olds charged with crimes. Those topics were covered at the most recent Detroit Community Meeting held [...]
Kimberly Cole is haunted by the memory of the young woman who came to her asking for help with her apartment manager. Cole is an instructor with St. Luke’s New Life Center in Flint, an organization that teaches job and life skills to people who have been formerly incarcerated or who come from a background [...]
Being released from prison should have been the end of a long, difficult chapter in Jarrett Ruffin’s life and the start of a much easier one. Instead, when Ruffin was released in 2003, he found a slate of new hurdles to cross, not the least of which was simply finding a safe place to call [...]
Currently, the crime victims compensation act prohibits financial assistance to victims of crime that occur in a correctional facility. Senate Bill 845, introduced by Senator Tom Casperson (R – District 38), removes this prohibition if the prosecutor supports the claim. This bill will recognize incarcerated people and their families can also be crime victims that are [...]
On September 11, health and law enforcement professionals testified before the House C.A.R.E.S. (Community, Access, Resources, Education, and Safety) Task Force at the Team Wellness Center in Detroit. The Team Wellness Center provides an array of comprehensive behavioral and physical health services in an environment that promotes quality of life, continuous improvement, and social awareness. [...]
November 2 was a powerful and moving evening! The 2017 CAPPS Annual Membership Meeting and dinner attracted over 200 people from across the state, including representatives from across the political spectrum, including business and community leaders, formerly incarcerated people and their families, crime survivors, and faith communities. The event featured author Dr. Heather Ann Thompson [...]
Troy Rienstra, CAPPS outreach director (second from the right in the photograph), helped convene an August 21 training for organizations working to assist underserved crime survivors in the Detroit area. Aqeela Sherrills, national training director for the Alliance for Safety and Justice (far left in the photograph), provided an in-depth explanation of how crime survivors are [...]
Troy Rienstra, CAPPS organizer, helped convene a July 1, 2017, training for organizations working to assist underserved crime survivors in the Grand Rapids area. Aqeela Sherrills, national training director for the Alliance for Safety and Justice, provided an in-depth explanation of how crime survivors are working to pursue policies that promote safer communities and help crime [...]
On May 30, Rep. Klint Kesto (R-District 39), House of Representatives Law and Justice Committee chair, took testimony from crime survivors calling for investments in systems that help crime survivors heal and create safe communities. Aswad Thomas provided powerful testimony about his experience as a crime survivor. He grew up playing basketball in Detroit. In [...]