The Mission Statement: Our objective

• To stimulate a dialogue of all interested parties on the issues of public safety, criminal justice and incarceration. To examine the success and failures of current policies and what other polices exist that may result in increased public safety, increased human rights and more efficient finances.

The Problem: Why we are developing this program

• The United States has a higher percentage of citizens in prison than any other country in the world. Over two million people are currently held in US prisons and close to eight million are in the system (in prison, on parole, or on probation).
• The prison industrial complex, a $52 billion a year industry, is one of the few growth industries in America today. However, it has an almost 70% recidivism (failure) rate.
• It is estimated that 10,000 innocent people are imprisoned each year. Forty percent of prisoners suffer from HIV, Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, or are acutely mentally ill. Twenty percent of those incarcerated are raped in prison.
• The cost of running the criminal justice system is causing a strain on the economy.
• The privatization of the criminal justice system is creating a modern slave system that is intolerable in a democracy.
• The "war on drugs" has created a situation where 70% of the incarcerated are non-violent offenders.
• There is little to no preparation for the incarcerated to reenter society, putting public safety at risk.
• The general public is ill informed about conditions in the current criminal justice system or alternatives to it. The nature of the system is such that all too frequently the only people who come into contact with or have knowledge of it are those individuals charged and/or incarcerated within its institutions and their loved ones. The incarcerated are traumatized and demonized and the "problem" is locked away out of sight and out of mind.

The Goals: What we want to do

• To stimulate a dialogue of all interested parties on the issues of public safety, criminal justice and incarceration.
• To examine the success and failures of current policies and what other polices exist that may result in increased public safety, increased human rights and more efficient finances.
• Increase public awareness of the condition of the criminal justice system as it exists and the alternatives to punitive justice.
• Stimulate a network of organizations working together on criminal justice issues.
• Create a resource manual that can help individuals navigate the criminal justice system in the tri-state area.
• Develop a speakerŐs bureau that can present programs to schools, churches and community groups.
• Develop materials that can be used to educate individuals and groups about these issues.

The Method: How we will do this

• Justice Month 2007 will be a thirty-one day festival of coordinated events aimed at increasing public awareness of the public safety, criminal justice, and incarceration systems as they exist and alternatives to them. Individual groups will present their own readings, film shows, forums, dramatic productions, or informational presentations, and all activities will be promoted together in a common calendar with the aim of amplifying public attention to these issues.

The Themes: Issues we will look at

• How to confront violence and crime
• How to protect the public safety
• How to strengthen and support the families of the incarcerated
• How to deal with the special issues of youth offenders
• How to deal with the challenges of re-entry
• How to raise public awareness through art
• How prison health issues affect all of us
• How to protect human rights while enhancing security
• What the alternatives to incarceration are
• How education, training and treatment act as rehabilitation
• How we can prevent violence through education
• How to explore the legal and legislative issues

The Project: How we are going to do

• We will gather the information on the many organizations in the Delaware Valley that service the public safety, criminal justice, and incarceration communities.
• We will create a publication that promotes all of the activities by every organization that chooses to host an event on these issues in March 2007.
• We will create a regional criminal justice resource manual. This manual will serve to inform individuals and families who are entering, residing in, or leaving the criminal justice system of the services available to them. While there are dozens of organizations working to help, there is currently no easy way to find out what services are available and where.
• We will begin the work of creating a network or alliance of criminal justice service organizations.
• We will develop a speaker's bureau of speakers for schools, churches and community organizations.

The Outcomes: What we will accomplish

• A public that is more knowledgeable of the public safety, criminal justice, and incarceration policy, their successes, failings and alternatives.
• A publication that will promote the various activities during Justice Month
• A Greater Delaware Valley Criminal Justice Resource Directory that will present a complete, cross-referenced guide to organizations that work on criminal justice issues. This guide will serve to inform individuals and families who are entering, residing in, or leaving penal institutions of the services available to them and also be an important resource for activists and organizations working for justice reform. By creating a regional resource book and uniting these groups under one umbrella, we will form a strong base for seeking more humane, less costly, and more effective alternatives to the current criminal justice system
• A network of organizations working together to improve the way public safety, criminal justice, and incarceration work.
• A resource bank for schools, churches, and community organizations to refer to for information and programs on the criminal justice system, including speakers, books, and audio-visual materials.
• The preparation of a more comprehensive program for next year.

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