A Message from Cuqui Rivera, Integrated Justice Alliance Administrative Chair

The Past Ignites the Future

A Brief History of Powerful Advocacy

Criminal justice reform in New Jersey has come a long way since the early 2000's, when the Integrated Justice Alliance (IJA) began its work. In the early 2000’s,the Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey, the New Jersey Black Issues Convention, the Department of Corrections, the State Parole Board, the New Jersey State Police, the Governor, and many others, organized then under the New Jersey Communities and Corrections Working Summit, Impacting Communities of Color (NJCCWS) , joined forces and pioneered the effort to take an honest look at the impact of discriminatory criminal justicepolicies and practices on communities of color. As part of our work, we built collaborative and productive partnerships with community leaders, law enforcement, corrections and parole leaders elected officials, policymakers, and other stakeholders to craft a unified action agenda to ensure greater fairness in the administration of criminal justice and its reforms. For a copy of the NJCCWS Reportof this reform effort, please contact us at any time.

In 2008, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, who was then a Representative in the New Jersey General Assembly,became a champion for this reform effort by leading the Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform, along with over 20 supportive legislators. Nine public hearings were eventually held across the state, during which the legislators spent many late evenings listening to hours of testimony from New Jerseyans impacted by discriminatory criminal justice laws, including those from the so-called “war on drugs” eras of the 1970s and 1980s.As the culmination of this multi-year work by the legislature, an omnibus reform bill of 22 new statutes was signed into law in January 2010.

Following our success in achieving passage of the omnibus reform bill in 2010, the Working Group in Criminal Justice Reform changed its name to the Integrated Justice Alliance of New Jersey, continuing its work to increase fairness in the criminal justice system.

Since 2010,our strong advocacy in reform and policy change has produced numeroussuccesses, which has served as national models for criminal justice reform, including bail reform, “Banning the Box,” and presumptive parole.Achieving bail reform in New Jersey was particularly challengingbecause it required a constitutional amendment.Undaunted by this significant undertaking, IJA’s members and associated organizations, we were successful in getting the amendment question on the 2014 ballot and winning its approval by the voters.As a result of this new constitutional amendment, the new bail process will take effect in January of 2017.

The Future, Ignited by the Past

Legislative Agenda, 2016

Building on the rich body of work, IJA and its affiliate members and organizations in 2016 are pursuing five essential criminal justice policy reforms.We are currently building statewide support for these reforms, with the goal of obtaining passage of the following legislative initiatives during this session:

  • An expansion of access to and eligibility for expungement of criminal records, so that non-violent crimes from a person’s past do not serve as lifetime barriers to employment, education, and civic engagement.
  • An elimination of the Ban on General Assistance benefits for people with drug convictions, so that all New Jersey residents with limited means—including those who have struggled with addiction—will be able to climb the ladder of opportunity.
  • Restoration of voting rights to individuals on parole and probation, so that all residents of New Jersey can be participate in the democratic process.
  • Reforming Parole Eligibility for inmates who max out, serve their full prison sentence. To release nonviolent offenders on their first eligibility date in efforts to promote good behavior and add resources to reduce recidivism in New Jersey.
  • An end to the practice of prison-based gerrymandering in New Jersey, so that all residents are counted in their home districts and not where they happen to be temporarily incarcerated, so that their families and communities receive the appropriate federal and state benefits and tax dollars, and so that we will live up to our constitutional principle of “one person, one vote.”
  • An end to the overuse of solitary confinement, so that the Department of Corrections will no longer isolate people under age 22, people with mental illnesses, people with developmental disabilities, or other vulnerable populations.For all prisoners, we seek to limit solitary confinement to 15 consecutive days and 20 days in any 60-day period.
  • Bail Reform implementation in New Jersey will take effect in January of 2017. Decisions being made now are guiding the construction of this structure. IJA actively monitors this progress.

Looking ahead to 2017, we have also created an IJA Gubernatorial Platform Task Force to develop aforum for gubernatorial candidates to address criminal justice reform. Building upon the IJA’s current policy agenda, the coalition is now working to form and then distribute a broader, more ambitious and aspirational platform to inform and shape the 2017 gubernatorial race and the subsequent administration’s policies.

Join Us! Our work as a coalition has produced many successes, but much more work remains unfinished. IJA has the obligation and responsibility to keep the people of New Jersey informed and educated in all of these areas, and to ensure that all necessary measures are in place to achieve full implementation and compliance with these reforms. We ask that you join us in this ongoing reform effort by staying fully informed about the activity and efforts of the Integrated Justice Alliance through our website, Facebook group, and Yahoo Group, as well as making use of all of our reports, links, bulletins, and resources. Our success depends on your ongoing support and contribution of your time and ideas, and we welcome your participation and leadership as we continue to march towards a fair and equal justice system for the people of New Jersey!

Integrated Justice Alliance c/o New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

60 Park Place, Suite 511 • Newark, NJ 07102 • Phone: 973.624.9400