New Solutions Campaign April 5th Event

Dear Supporters,

As you may know, Drug Policy Alliance leads the New Solutions Campaign in New Jersey which focuses on criminal justice reform.  One of our coalition partners, Bethany Baptist Church, is sponsoring a breakfast and community organizing event in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. focused on supporting the below pieces of legislation. 

Rev. Dr. M. William Howard, Jr., The Lecture Committee and DPA would like to invite you to participate in this event on Saturday, April 5^th at 9:00 am located at 275 West Market Street in Newark, NJ 07103.  If you are interested in attending, please RSVP as soon as possible to Brenda Galarza at bgalarza@bethany-newark.org or 973-623-8161.  For more details, please see the attached flyer.

For those of you not familiar with the New Solutions Campaign and the coalition, please review the below information and/or click here.  For those of you that are already supporting the campaign, please note the updated bill numbers:

As many of you are aware, over the last three decades, New Jersey’s prison population has grown at a staggering rate, increasing from around 8,000 to more than 23,000.  At the same time the corrections budget has skyrocketed from $289 million a year to over $1 billion a year.  

The overuse of incarceration tears apart vulnerable families and communities and permanently excludes large segments of the population from gainful participation in the workforce.  Individuals with prison records earn 30 to 40 percent less than those without prison records—if they can find jobs at all—and are often unable to support themselves or their families.  These unfair and ineffective policies disproportionately impact New Jersey’s already marginalized communities.  While African Americans and Latinos make up less than 30 percent of the state’s population, they account for more than 80 percent of those incarcerated. 

It costs our state about $50,000 a year to incarcerate one person and New Jersey spends more than $300 million annually just to imprison individuals for nonviolent drug offenses.  Not only is prison expensive, it may also have the unintended consequence of hardening low-risk offenders.  At a time when the state and municipalities are laying off police officers, firefighters and teachers and cutting essential education, health and community programs, we cannot afford this wasteful and ineffective criminal justice spending. 

As with any government program, the corrections system must be held accountable for achieving results and using taxpayer money wisely.  Elected officials, judges, prosecutors, criminal justice experts and advocates from across the political spectrum are speaking out against ineffective and costly policies for nonviolent offenses and calling for the adoption of more appropriate penalties and alternatives to incarceration.  To fix New Jersey’s broken criminal justice system, Drug Policy Alliance launched the New Solutions Campaign which promote policies that prioritize fiscal responsibility, increase public safety and reduce recidivism.   

The Campaign is currently supporting four important pieces of legislation and we need your help to ensure their passage:

• Senate Bill 946 / Assembly Bill 1910 requires all arrestees to undergo a risk assessment, replaces the money bail system with non-monetary release options and pretrial supervision and takes the profit motive out of the pretrial justice system by eliminating for-profit bond agencies. (This is the campaign’s priority bill at the moment)

• Senate Bill 677 will reform and streamline the parole system by allowing nonviolent offenders to be released on their first parole eligibility date provided that they have demonstrated accountability by having no serious disciplinary infractions while incarcerated and that they have participated in rehabilitation and treatment programs while incarcerated. 

• Senate Bill 1977 would have reduced the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana from a criminal offense to a civil fine, similar to a parking ticket.  This common-sense reform will provide for fairer penalties, save money by removing these minor offenses from overburdened courts and enhance public safety by allowing limited law enforcement resources to be focused on serious offenses.  (This bill was not reintroduced this legislative session.  However, the sponsor, Senator Scutari, has announced that he will introduce a proposal to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol for adults.  The bill number and details will be available shortly).

·         The Community Safety and Fair Sentencing Act restores judicial discretion to waive the harsh mandatory sentencing enhancement for certain repeat drug offenders. (Pending legislative introduction)

Any organizations or congregations interested in joining the long list of supporters for this campaign, can sign-up here.

If you know of any individuals supporting the above legislation and they are willing to share a personal story of how the drug war has impacted them or their family, please let me know.  If you know of a clergy member that would be willing to get involved in the campaign by adding their name to the faith leader letters we are circulating, please let me know. 

For a list of current coalition members for each initiative as well as fact sheets and supporting documents associated with the campaign, please visit: http://www.drugpolicy.org/departments-and-state-offices/new-jersey/new-solutions-campaign. Please also feel free to forward this message on to your friends, family and colleagues that may be interested in getting involved.  If you have any questions or need additional information, you can contact me via email or at 609-396-8613.

Thanks for your consideration!  I look forward to seeing you on April 5^th!

Best,

Meagan

Meagan Glaser, MPAP | Deputy State Director, New Jersey

Drug Policy Alliance

16 West Front Street, Suite 101A | Trenton, NJ 08608

Voice: 609.396.8613 | Fax: 609.396.9478

www.drugpolicy.org

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