SAFETY & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Advocating for safe communities, criminal justice reform and human justice
Our focus on safety includes taking a stand on issues of community safety and criminal justice reform. Staff involvement in local community meetings, such as City of Houston Complete Communities Super Neighborhood meetings, Third Ward Community Cloth meetings and other ongoing efforts with various community organizations and civic leaders provide opportunities for ccppi to further understand, add voice to, and/or support community needs. At regional and statewide levels, CCPPI advocates for bail reform, criminal justice reform and other legislation that serves to improve community safety and criminal justice. Some community interactions included promotion of the showing of two HBO documentaries (Traffic Stop and Sandra Bland) followed by panel discussions, and attendance at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Quarterly Meetings. During the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition webinar that unveiled a powerful tool that can be used for criminal justice advocacy, CCPPI staff made comments on the Harris County Data/TCJC dashboard and other potential data it could provide. Due to its current capacity to pull potentially impactful data points (i.e., race & charges, community policing practices, bail trends, sentencing, etc.) we recommend use of the Harris County Dashboard found at tcjcdashboard.org for advocacy purposes.
CCPPI Eviction Prevention Resources Map
This resource map was developed by CCPPI team members and interns to support the implementation of the Eviction Prevention Initiative and Resource Center established by Judge Jeremy L. Brown, Harris County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 7, Place 1. This tool provides a listing of several food, financial and housing assistance agencies available in and around (a few beyond) Precinct 7 boundaries as of March 2020.
(Click on map)
Eviction Prevention Resources Map
Mapping Police Violence, New Data...
Mapping Police Violence recently released their report which represents the most comprehensive account of deadly police violence in 2020. 1,127 people were killed by the police last year. Black people were more likely to be killed by the police, more likely to be unarmed and less likely to be threatening someone when killed. Click here to learn more and view the interactive report.
In Austin, Christopher Taylor, the officer who shot and killed Michael Ramos, an unarmed Black and Hispanic man, that began protests in Texas against police brutality (just weeks before George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis), has been charged with murder.
