We Believe:

• Disqualify law enforcement officers from employment if they are on the Brady List
• The criminal legal system must prioritize change within its ranks with emphasis on racial and gender equity in reforms and on addressing the domestic violence crisis among law enforcement officers (to ensure inclusion of incarceration facilities staff), including the explicit prohibition and disqualification from service or employment within law enforcement of those with a history of domestic violence or violent bigotry.
• In ending mass incarceration and dismantling the prison industrial complex
• Reinstate the Parole Board to take a look at lengthy/excessive sentences to address our mass incarceration
• All people, regardless of race, sexual orientation and gender identity, ability and class have the right to be secure in their persons, bodies, houses, papers, personal data, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures;
• In full funding of the Violence Against Women Act, services to crime victims, expeditious testing of rape kits and programs to prevent sexual violence. To combat this, we advocate for closing loopholes that enable dangerous individuals to access firearms, along with reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, will help mitigate these dangers. The CDC should be authorized and funded to investigate and compile data on gun violence including and highlighting the statistics and demographics of perpetrators of violence and not just victims.
• A person’s wealth, gender, sexual orientation, or race should not determine how the rule of law is applied to them and should not affect law enforcement’s decision to capture, prosecute, and convict the perpetrator of a crime committed against them.
• All victims of crimes have a right to justice.
• A person’s ability to serve on a jury should not be diminished due to their race, gender, sexual orientation, wealth, or prior contact with law enforcement. 
• The strikingly disproportional negative impact of our civil and criminal justice system on people based on race, sexual orientation and gender identity, ability and class demands our attention and cries out for justice too long denied.
• The culture of the entire criminal justice system must change for equitable justice for all.
• Incarcerated individuals should be given access to phone, email and other digital communication with their families at no cost to them or their families, as this encourages family unity and furthers the incarcerated person’s rehabilitation. 
• Educational programs, in many forms, should be fully funded and readily available to incarcerated individuals who desire it, whether to improve opportunities post-incarceration or to gain an understanding of particular issues,.  Incarcerated individuals are generally less violent when they are scholars, and recidivism is reduced after prison. They provide access to communication tools, strengthen family ties and support rehabilitation
• Adequate, accessible medical care should be provided for incarcerated persons
• Solitary confinement is cruel and inhuman and should be abolished
• In increasing public safety by reducing the root causes of crime such as poverty, wealth inequality, lack of affordable housing, under employment, mental illness, drug addiction and supporting the restorative and corrective services to return people to living productive lives should replace the punishment and incarceration focus within the criminal justice system
• In using therapeutic, mental health, and drug courts, at all court levels, to reduce the overrepresentation of people with mental illnesses, drug addiction, and “crimes” of poverty and homelessness in the carceral system.
• In immediate and comprehensive action to end racial profiling and the disproportionately high imprisonment of people of color, and to reduce the U.S.’s overall incarceration rate, which is the highest in the world. Reducing mass incarceration benefits communities and begins to dismantle the prison industrial complex.
• Providing all formerly incarcerated people with the opportunity to re-enter and be productive members of society, starting with an assistance plan for transitional food, clothing, housing, transportation and employment when they are released from a local, state, or federal institution.
• No one should profit from imprisonment; prisons should be public, rehabilitative institutions. In addition, the school to prison pipeline must be dismantled.
• Fully funding therapeutic and mental health courts at every level is crucial to effectively supporting individuals dealing with mental health conditions, substance abuse issues, and offenses linked to poverty. Addiction treatment and restorative justice are preferred over incarceration, and homelessness should not be criminalized.
• Law enforcement is obligated to remain impartial and unbiased when apprehending, prosecuting, and convicting those responsible for crimes, and all employees and subcontractors operating within the justice system must meet high ethical standards.
• Basic human rights must be respected for individuals in confinement, including those in jails, prisons, mental health facilities, protective custody, or memory care facilities.
• Community service work is an important element of restorative justice and should be considered as a substitute for incarceration when public safety isn’t an issue.
• In supporting men and boys in undoing unhealthy beliefs, behaviors, and social pressure to be aggressive, violent and entitled to violence against marginalized people. A healthy and safe community is a place where boys and men work towards undoing socialized beliefs about domination and control over others.
• Individuals with a criminal conviction should retain their right to vote and should be encouraged to register and vote in their home precinct.
• Investing in alternative emergency response programs can establish safer channels for individuals to seek assistance promptly. Strengthening community-police relations involves implementing civilian oversight, review, and engagement in formulating ethical law enforcement strategies.
• Investing in housing, nonviolent conflict resolution, education, youth programs, healthcare, social services, rehabilitation, and providing living wage jobs can effectively decrease crime and violence in communities.
• In supporting survivors through honoring, respecting, and conducting credible investigations into their stories while thoroughly examining their claims.
• Sex workers should not be charged or prosecuted for sex crimes when they report crimes.
• Sex work should be decriminalized
• Incarceration is not an effective solution for marginalized and traumatized women. The underlying causes of criminal behaviors indicate that community-based treatment programs offer more advantages than punitive measures within the justice system.
• In judicial discretion in the sentencing of individuals.
• End Qualified Immunity, permitting citizens to sue public officials, including law enforcement, to hold them accountable and increase public trust in our government institutions and law enforcement. 
• The criminal legal system is rooted in racism.
• Cash bail criminalizes poverty. No one should be held in jail due to their inability to post bail. 
• Right to timely, appropriate, quality dental and healthcare for incarcerated individuals.
• Remove high fees for sending money to fund basic communication and minor comfort items, as these place burdens on families and disproportionately impacts people living in poverty.
• That the justice system should first serve justice through rehabilitation, restoration and transformation rather than through retribution and punishment.
• In eliminating the use of solitary confinement in jails and prisons except as the last resort and for an appropriate period of time in an emergency or medical event. Basic rights for individuals in solitary confinement should include at least 4 hours outside of the cell per day and access to communication, educational materials, and personal hygiene.
• In mandatory ongoing anti-racism, anti-bias and diversity training for all employees in the criminal legal system.
• In demilitarizing the police and ending all No-Knock Raids
• In ending the practice of charging youth as adults.
• We believe in ending solitary confinement as a form of punishment.
• Support the creation of a coalition of law enforcement, community advocates for police accountability, and legislators to start ongoing dialogue to change the culture of policing that will save lives of both law enforcement and community members.