Reform in Action: Findings and Recommendations from a 3-Year Process Evaluation of New York's 2020 Criminal Legal Reforms

In April 2019, New York State passed the Criminal Justice Reform Act (Act), fueled by increasingly abhorrent conditions at the Risker Island Jail Complex in New York City (NYC). The Act, hailed as one of the most ambitious bail reform packages in the country, focused on creating a decision-making foundation for pretrial release that was not dependent on financial resources, and incorporating significant changes to policy and practice in four key areas of pretrial decision-making: 1) law enforcement encounters and appearance tickets; 2) pretrial release and restricting the use of cash bail; 3) pretrial services and expanding the use of pretrial services and supervision; and 4) evidence-sharing between prosecutors and defenders (discovery).

To study how the initial and ongoing legislative changes were carried out, the City University of New York Institute for State & Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), with support from Arnold Ventures, conducted a multi-year process evaluation of how New York’s reforms were planned, operationalized, and implemented across a diverse group of coun­ties. The evaluation, which covered all four of the key areas of reform, aimed not just to document what the rollout looked like, but also to understand the factors and circumstances that facilitated or hindered success. Importantly, it centered the perspectives of those closest to the process—name­ly, administrators, practitioners, direct service providers, and people involved with the criminal legal system.

Overall, CUNY ISLG’s study underscored just how much work local agencies across the state have done to enact the reforms. Though it did not come without tremendous challenges and adjustments, all agency representatives participating in the study described innovative ways they overcame obstacles. Findings from CUNY ISLG’s study are presented in two categories; each corresponding to a key stage of reform implementation:

1. Planning for Success: How Early Planning and Strategizing Proved Critical for Implementation. An overview of the factors local agencies identi­fied as critical to facilitating effective implemen­tation of the reforms during the first rollout as well as in addressing anticipated and unantici­pated challenges throughout the process to ensure alignment with legislative intentions;

2. Experience & Results: Has Legislative Implementation Changed Policy and Practice in the Ways Intended? A look three-plus years into the reform period (January 1, 2020-April 2023), detailing whether and to what extent the legislation was imple­mented with fidelity and the ways in which it changed envisioned processes and practices. The section is organized by the key areas of focus for the study, corresponding with the key provisions of the Act, as well as to impacts on equitable decision-making and the effects of COVID-19 on implementation.

Grounded in the key lessons learned from the New York experience, the findings emerging from CUNY ISLG’s process evaluation revealed several recommendations for planning and implementing a major statewide criminal legal reform effort. These recommendations are primarily intended for jurisdictions that are considering or may con­sider launching a similar type of effort in the future, and address what can and should happen at the state level to support cities and counties in their implementation process. They focus on the early stages of planning, a critical period in laying the foundation for success and fostering prepared­ness among stakeholders.

See our fact sheet series for initial findings by reform area (Bail, Discovery, Pretrial Services, and Appearance Tickets).