By Noah Pransky
No young New Yorker should spend a day longer in detention than necessary.
That was the message from Miriam Popper, Senior Advisor for Youth Justice at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, as she testified before the NYC City Council today.
It’s become a top priority of the Mamdani Administration, she said, so young New Yorkers — who can safely and reliably participate in their court case from the community — are able to so, improving the odds for future success both for the individuals and the neighborhoods they call home.
“The work to really move the needle is happening,” Popper said Tuesday. “We are strengthening diversion, reducing unnecessary delays, and ensuring detention is always the last resort.”
Popper testified how the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice has been working with other city agencies to lower the number of New Yorkers in custody.
Those efforts include:
- Expanding community‑based alternatives to detention (ATD) and alternatives to incarceration (ATI);
- Launching intensive pretrial supervision programs with NYC Probation;
- Increasing the use of step‑down detention to safely relieve stresses on secure facilities;
- Working with courts and partners to cut unnecessary case delays so that young people who do remain in detention are there no longer than needed.
This work is part of MOCJ’s broader whole‑of‑government strategy to rethink how city systems support young people who encounter the justice system, including supporting a Youth Justice Working Group that brings together agencies that historically worked in parallel. That work is helping to ensure city services — from education to behavioral health to legal supports — help keep young people connected to their communities.
Popper also said MOCJ is continuously evaluating the city’s investments.
“Are these the programs the youth in our community actually need and are these the programs that our court stakeholders are going to use?,” she said. “We know that we can make as many programs as we want, but if the court stakeholders don’t rely on them, then they won’t be used and they won’t be effective in our goal of reducing population.”
Together, these strategies are moving the system in the right direction.
In July, when MOCJ began receiving detailed census reports, the secure detention population was 393.
As of Tuesday, it had dropped to 352 — an early but meaningful sign of progress.
As the work continues, Popper said she and MOCJ are focused on helping to build a youth justice system anchored in safety, fairness, and opportunity for every young person in New York City.