Institute Intelligence, October 2025: Why Civic Engagement Matters, Tracking the Changing Use of Jail After Reform
By Carla Sinclair, Senior Communications Associate, and Alisa Orlowsky, Communications Associate
Early voting is already underway in New York City, with New Yorkers casting ballots on a suite of new housing proposals, City Council, Borough President, District Attorneys, and—as you may have heard—the next mayor of the largest city in the US.
Find your polling site and learn what’s on your ballot here.
Voting is a key feedback mechanism that New Yorkers can use to voice opinions, wants, and issues facing their communities. This form of civic engagement—explored on our blog, linked below—is a major part of assessing whether things are working.
This, critically, must be coupled with data, analysis, and research that evaluates the programs and services that serve our cities, counties, and states across the country. Providing both the public and policymakers with these tools to understand what's impacting their communities is the first step to an informed, thriving society. Read on for more of that from us and our partners.
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Advancing Justice
Web Report: The Changing Use of Jails in Safety and Justice Challenge Counties
The majority of people in local jails around the country are awaiting their criminal trial, meaning they have not been convicted of the crimes that brought them in, and many of them do not pose a danger to public safety. In fact, keeping those in jail who could be better served in the community can cause long-term instability.
Given this research, cities and counties involved in the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) have engaged in collaborative, multi-agency efforts to safely reduce the misuse and overuse of their local jails and increase equity across the system.
These efforts have yielded impressive results: in these SJC cities and counties, nearly 18,000 fewer people are in jails today compared to the start of the initiative. And over nearly a decade of this work, research has established that people released pretrial were no more likely to return to jail than those released before the SJC, including for violent crime—demonstrating that data-driven and cross-agency collaborative planning efforts can lead to positive outcomes for individuals while keeping communities safe.
ISLG’s latest analysis of the data looks at the changing use of jails in select SJC sites. The main findings include:
Fewer people were booked for lower-level and administrative charges.
More people were released while their case was pending.
People with felony bookings had shorter jail stays.
Racial and ethnic disparities persist.
Explore the web report: The Changing Use of Jails in Safety and Justice Challenge Counties
Optimizing Government & Institutions
Why Civic Engagement in State and Local Elections Matters for Your Communities
Many of the local government positions on the ballot in the 2025 NYC elections are closest levers of democracy to the people they serve. These officials and agencies oversee public services, maintain infrastructure, and generally shape the policies that drive opportunity, growth, and quality of life.
This is why voting—and civic engagement more broadly—is so important. While numbers in the 2025 elections so far are high compared to past years, there’s still work to be done, especially in the Bronx.
On our blog, Communications Associate Alisa Orlowsky explores why civic engagement is so important, and how we and our partners at the NYC Campaign Finance Board are working with to increase civic engagement in communities where voter turnout has historically been low.
“This engagement has led to safer streets, stronger neighborhood coalitions, and the successful implementation of programs that reflect the true needs and values of the community.”
- Mark Gonzalez, Deputy Director at We Stay/Nos Quedamos in the South Bronx
Promoting Opportunity
This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, We’re Reflecting on the Work Accomplished and Road Ahead
As October winds down, we’re reflecting on our partners who are dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic and gender-based violence in accessing the services and resources that can help them rebuild their lives. And it’s never been more important: in NYC, rates of reporting have been steadily climbing since the pandemic.
The meaningful work of these partners will continue on beyond this month of awareness, and we want to thank them for all they do. Get to know them here.
On Our Blog: For survivors of gender-based violence, services offered by community organizations and local governments can make a world of difference. Communications Associate Alisa Orlowsky spoke with the team leading the Gender-Based Violence Project, which seeks to understand how organizations deliver services to survivors and explores how survivors navigate these systems.
From Our Partners: Understanding the Impacts of a Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program on Attitudes, Beliefs, and Recidivism
For decades, policymakers, advocates, survivors, law enforcement, researchers, and others have struggled to support survivors of domestic violence, hold abusive partners accountable, and address the root causes of abusive behavior. Ending these cycles is especially important when survivors continue to see or have shared responsibilities with their abusive partner. In 2019, as part of the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative, the Manhattan DA’s Office launched the Trauma-Informed Abusive Partner Intervention Program (TI-APIP) for individuals charged with an intimate partner violence (IPV)-related crime.
The Urban Resource Institute (URI) implemented the program, incorporating trauma-informed approaches that consider participants’ trauma histories, needs, and experiences. This month, the Urban Institute published an outcome evaluation of the program. The research found participants demonstrated high understanding of IPV, its prevalence, and causes, as well as had a meaningful reduction in the probability of rearrest and reconviction on serious crimes following release. Read more on our blog.
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