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Our  Civic Engagement  Work

We believe that everyday New Yorkers can build shared power to create lasting safety for our communities and put an end to mass incarceration in New York. 

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Common Justice Builds Power to Create Real Safety

Common Justice’s civic engagement work builds local power in Black and brown communities that have been disproportionately impacted by violence. We believe in people and in movement and work tobuild collective power with and alongside other advocacy groups to end mass incarceration and build effective, durable systems to solve violence and deliver real safety and healing. 

Our civic Engagement work

Common Justice works with people most impacted by violence and incarceration to build power and engagement at the local government level sites of democratic decision-making.   

To anchor our fight for real and lasting solutions to violence, we have co-created, with our members, a Community Safety Platform that puts forward a vision for safety that does right by everyone.  Its core elements are: centering the needs of survivors, decoupling criminal enforcement and healing services, building alternatives proportionate to need, and addressing the root causes of violence.   

At the heart of this work is our Communities for Safety Collective cohort, which supports those most impacted by violence in becoming leaders in this movement. Our members advocate for the Community Safety Platform by becoming actively involved with local governmental bodies such as community boards, school boards and city council where the future of public safety in their communities is often decided.  They leverage their experience and shared power in service of our associated Legislative Platform on Safety and Violence. And they deploy civic media strategies, sharing what they learn with their networks and to make news and information about violence and safety more accessible for their communities. 

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Check out our latest victory with the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act

FAVC Campaign

We are fighting for expanded and equitable access to victim compensation funds

Our goal is to raise awareness about New York State’s victim compensation program and propose several legislative bills to eliminate barriers to access that survivors face. The first bill we introduced, the Fair Access to Victim Compensation bill, S.214A (Myrie) / A.2105A (Meeks) was successfully signed into law in 2023. The bill removed the requirement that survivors report their harm to the police in order to be eligible for victim compensation. We are currently working to eliminate the State’s contributory conduct policy, which bars survivors from receiving victim compensation if they or the loved one they lost to violence are deemed to have had a hand in their own harm. What constitutes contributory conduct can range from being a member of a gang, to allegedly instigating an altercation, to having illegal drugs in one’s pocket at the time of harm. Contributory conduct policies perpetuate the false narrative that victims and survivors must be “innocent” or “perfect” to receive support.

Our Legislative Priorities

Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act:

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Mandatory minimum sentences fuel mass incarceration, removing judicial discretion and giving prosecutors excessive leverage to pressure guilty pleas. This bill would eliminate the rigidity in New York’s current sentencing laws and enable judges to consider the unique aspects and mitigating factors in each case. The Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act (S.6471/A.2036A) aims to shift the criminal legal system away from punitive prison terms and toward healing and accountability.

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Youth Justice and Opportunities Act:

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We believe in accountability and the power of justice that is restorative. However, the current criminal legal system too often imposes harsh sentences on adolescents and young adults, resulting in long prison terms and lifelong records. The Youth Justice and Opportunities Act (S.3426/A.4238) seeks to protect the futures of young people under 26, strengthen community well-being, and offer emerging adults a chance to move forward without the lasting burden of a conviction record.

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Treatment Court Expansion Act:

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The healthiest communities are the safest. For too long, New Yorkers struggling with substance use and mental health issues have been sent to jails and prisons instead of receiving the care they need. We know that these cycles perpetuate harm, not healing. The Treatment Not Jail Act (S.1976/A.1263A) provides emerging adults the chance to move forward in their lives without the barrier of a criminal conviction.

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Elder Parole:

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Thousands of New Yorkers are enduring excessively long prison sentences due to harsh sentencing laws and a parole system riddled with racial bias, focused more on punishment than recognizing growth and rehabilitation. The Elder Parole bill (S.2423/A.2035) would allow incarcerated individuals aged 55 and older, who have served 15 or more years, a chance for parole release consideration—offering hope to some of the state’s oldest and most vulnerable incarcerated people.

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Fair and Timely Parole:

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Due to sentencing laws and an ineffective parole release process, people are serving longer sentences with fewer opportunities for release. The Fair and Timely Parole bill (S.307/A.162) provides a more meaningful parole review process for incarcerated people who are already parole-eligible and ensures that people are evaluated for release based on who they are today, including their rehabilitation, personal transformation and their current risk of violating the law.

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