In an effort to drive reform of local criminal justice systems, the MacArthur Foundation is sponsoring a competition to develop plans and evidence-based solutions that reduce public costs and provide alternatives to imprisoning low-level, nonviolent offenders.
The Camden County Jail will seek to be one of 20 facilities receiving grant money from the foundation's
Safety and Justice Challenge, a five-year, $75 million investment to prevent over-incarceration.
“The jail and our law enforcement partners will apply for the grant in collaboration with the prosecutor, the courts, local law enforcement and the public defender’s office,” said Freeholder Michelle Gentek, liaison to the Camden County Correctional Facility.
The Freeholder Board has already launched a home electronic detention program, which uses monitoring bracelets for nonviolent offenders who can, in turn, continue contributing to society.
The MacArthur Foundation points out that U.S. jail populations have tripled since the 1980s, with a proportional rise in the cumulative costs of building and maintaining facilities. By providing grants to cities and counties across the country, the foundation seeks to encourage changes in the way America thinks about and uses jails.
“This challenge grant will also provide us with the ability to continue to work on the important tenets of our operation by being able to reduce recidivism through reintegrating current inmates back into society,” Gentek said. “This grant will provide our team with the technical assistance to implement innovative operations and expand current practices of making the justice system more effective for the public.”
The MacArthur Foundation, one of the nation's largest independent foundations, seeks to strengthen and improve public policy, and provide information to the public.
Dan Henson/Stock Photo
