NBC NEWS NEW YORK
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced the creation of Pathways to Public Safety Division to use alternatives to incarceration across the district attorney's office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. announced Monday the creation of the division to further use diversion and evidence-based programming to "ensure individuals involved in the criminal justice system receive necessary services to reduce recidivism and enhance public safety."
“The Pathways to Public Safety Division will secure dynamic, individually tailored outcomes that are proven to keep our communities safe while giving our fellow New Yorkers the help they need,” Bragg said in a statement.
“By identifying opportunities for diversion at the beginning stages of a case, instead of weeks to months after an arrest, we can increase effectiveness and break cycles of recidivism," Bragg went on to say in his statement. "Pathways will provide prosecutors with support and resources from screening through sentencing, incorporating alternatives to incarceration into the bedrock of the Office’s work. That means identifying candidates for programming as early as possible, while closely monitoring an individual’s progress throughout – ensuring accountability instead of a revolving door.”
According to Bragg the restructuring of the district attorney's office will strengthen its alternatives to incarceration, specialized court parts, pre-arraignment diversion, restorative justice practices, and reentry.
Pathways will also provide each of the six existing Trial Division bureaus with a specific prosecutor to serve from arraignment to sentencing to identify individuals who would benefit from diversion and programming without jeopardizing community safety.
Pathways will be lead by Division Chief Sherene Crawford, who served as an Assistant D.A. in Manhattan from 2009 to 2014. According to Bragg, the division will transform the district attorney's practices relating to:
Specialized Court Parts, including the Alternatives to Incarceration Court Part, Mental Health Court, Veterans Treatment Court, Human Trafficking Intervention Court, the Youth Part, and more.
Diversion Opportunities and Alternatives to Incarceration, including programming through Manhattan Justice Opportunities and pre-arraignment diversion programs such as Project Reset and Project HOPE, as well as the Office’s restorative justice practices.
New Yorkers Re-Entering Communities from Incarceration, including the Reentry Task Force.
"The new Pathways to Public Safety Division is a vital measure for reducing recidivism and making our borough safer,” State Senator Brad Hoylman said in a statement.
Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa shared similar sentiments saying that "the creation of District Attorney Bragg’s Pathways to Public Safety Division will help proactively identify opportunities for diversion at the beginning stages of a case, instead of days, even months after their arrest, thereby increasing both effectiveness and safety."
Meanwhile, Jonathan Lippman, former chief judge of New York State and current chair of the Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, said he commended Bragg for creating the new division "will promote consideration of all reasonable evidence-based options to hold people accountable and promote rehabilitation."