Breaking the Frame: Remaking the Criminal Justice System in New York City

Over the past five years the number of people entering jail has fallen by almost half, with reductions that have quadrupled in pace since the beginning of this administration five years ago. Police are arresting, summonsing and stopping fewer people and judges are using release more and jail less, even as crime continues to decline.

This report describes these trends, examines the drivers of this transformation and suggests that we are turning the corner into a new way of creating safety, rooted in neighborhoods, reaching beyond the singular reliance on criminal justice structures to approaches that, among other things, create vibrant public spaces and invest in human development.