Working within neighborhoods to end mass incarceration
"By building social capacity, communities can respond to their own issues rather than rely on responses from the criminal justice system."
We know that mass incarceration is fueled by racism, current criminal justice practices, social circumstances, the growth of private prisons, cultural norms, and even Christian theology. We know that it is incredibly damaging to individuals and communities. Recently I was captivated by an article in my alumni magazine about the Smart Decarceration Project, a collaborative initiative that uses research, data, education, and community engagement to try to decrease the prison population. Shortly after the First Step Act was passed in December, I had a conversation with Leon Sawh, the Smart Decarceration Project’s research manager.
How did the term decarceration arise, and how did the movement come about?
The term decarceration was mentioned in a textbook in the 1980s, and then it disappeared for about 30 years. Matt Epperson, who directs the Smart Decarceration Project at the University of Chicago, came up with the idea of revitalizing the concept of decarceration with the goals of identifying and further developing effective alternatives to the overuse of mass incarceration.
