►
Description
City Council President Darrell L. Clarke (5th District) on Thursday, February 4, 2016, named a diverse array of community and law enforcement leaders to a Special Committee tasked with overhauling Philadelphia’s criminal justice system.
The co-chairs of the Special Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms are:
Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. (4th District), chair of the Committee on Public Safety;
Former Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel; and
Keir Bradford-Gray, chief of Philadelphia Defenders Association.
Others named to the Special Committee are:
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District);
Ann Schwartzman, Pennsylvania Prison Society; and
Tariq El-Shabazz, Esq., El-Shabazz & Harris, LLC.
More committee appointments, including those at the request of the Kenney Administration, will be made in the coming weeks.
A
And
several
months
ago
there
was
this
discussion
and
kind
of
tell
you
why
I
got
engaged
at
the
level
that
I'm
engaged
now
in
councilman
heenan's
district.
There
was
an
issue
with
respect
to
a
prison,
and
the
concern
was
about
building
a
new
prison
for
the
house
with
corrections
and
whether
or
not
it
should
be
building
a
location.
A
A
A
So
I
stand
here
today
prepared
to
start
the
process
of
moving
towards
a
very,
very
significant
issue
and
one
that
is
extremely
critical
and
talking
to
a
number
of
people.
We
found
that
we
should
approach
this
in
an
extremely
comprehensive
way
and
you'll
see
as
it
move.
We've
moved
forward
on
this
select
committee
that
we
will
be
diligent
we
will
be
inclusive.
A
B
B
We
are
concerned
and
we
have
been
concerned
in
the
past
when
a
building
collapsed
on
22nd
in
market
president
clark
took
the
initiative
to
form
a
special
commission
to
look
at
demolition
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
It
resulted
in
75
recommendations,
many
of
them
before
the
ink
was
dry
on
the
report
were
being
implemented
because
they
were
value
added
to
the
whole
process,
and
some
of
them
are
in
the
process
of
to
this
day
being
formulated
and
and
making
our
city
safer.
Similarly,
this
is
a
system
that
cannot
be
ignored.
B
So
now
I
don't
want
to
give
the
impression-
and
I
hope
my
co-chairs
will
agree-
that
there
are
a
lot
of
good
people
who
have
made
a
lot
of
good
effort
that
have
come
before
us
people
from
c
jab
criminal
justice
people.
Professionals
at
pccd
have
made
contributions
in
this
way.
But
what
we
have
found
in
best
practices
is
when
people
remove
the
silos
and
start
collaborating
together.
B
It
is
amazing
what
ordinary
people
can
accomplish
and
do
extraordinary
things.
So
that's
our
hope
we
want
to
do.
The
mayor
has
talked
about
moving
to
a
zero-based
budgeting
process.
Well,
this
is
an
appropriate
time
to
see
how
much
things
cost,
how
much
time
things
take
a
a
good
example
of
how
you
do
that
is
pittsburgh
right
down
the
road
on
81.
They
went
through
this
process
some
years
ago
and
once
they
removed
the
barriers
of
silos
of
this
is
my
lane.
B
They
began
to
see
where
things
could
be
improved,
both
in
cost
effectiveness
and,
ultimately
in
the
reduction
of
the
census
within
their
jails.
So
we
hope
to
do
that.
We
do
not
think
this
is
a
easy
process.
No
one
up
here
to
my
knowledge
is
getting
compensated
for
this,
as
the
president
alluded
to.
We
are
not
finished
with
picking
people
to
be
a
part
of
this
collaboration.
B
We
want
to
get
someone
from
victims
rights
to
be
involved
in
this,
and
we
have
reached
out
to
that
constituency
and
are
awaiting
a
response,
because
once
again,
we're
not
paying
for
this.
This
is
a
voluntary
effort
which
will
consume
a
lot
of
time
from
the
people
here
and
then
also.
The
hispanic
community
is
another
group
that
we
are
reaching
out
to
because
they
unfortunately
are
a
great
part
of
that
census
up
on
state
road
as
well,
so
we
hope
to
be
industrious.
We
hope
to
be
open-minded.
B
C
Thank
you
so
much
councilman
jones,
I
just
want
to
say
I'm
very
honored
to
be
a
part
of
this
committee,
I'm
being
a
co-chair
with
some
of
these
extraordinary
people,
especially
mr
kevin
bethel,
who
is
no
longer
a
deputy
bethel
yeah
he's
in
civilian
clothes.
Now
we've
worked
together
on
a
number
of
criminal
justice
issues
and
we
made
some
really
great
policies.
So
I'm
looking
forward
to
that.
C
I
think
this
is
a
step
in
the
right
direction
to
being
smart
on
crime,
and
every
criminal
justice
system
should
want
to
understand
how
their
policy
impacts
the
lives
of
those
who
come
through
our
system,
but
also
the
communities
in
which
they
belong.
I
think
when
we
look
at
policies
we
want
to,
we
should
struggle
or
strive
to
understand.
When
are
we
making
people
more
desperate?
C
Are
our
policies
hurting
more
people
than
protecting
the
safety
of
the
individuals
in
the
community
and
when
we
can
get
to
that
part,
I
think
we
can
develop
practice
models
that
go
towards
that
common
goal.
We
want
to
make
sure
we
balance
the
public
need
for
public
safety,
but
also
make
sure
that
people
who
come
through
these
systems
get
the
opportunity
to
have
a
second
chance
and
to
be
lifelong,
productive
citizens.
C
D
First
and
foremost,
let
me
qualify,
I
don't
get
charged
and
personate
a
police
officer
anymore,
but
I
have
have
subsequently
retired
and
I'm
now
the
stoneleigh
fellow
assigned
to
drexel
in
a
juvenile
reform
lab
where
I'm
working
around
a
lot
of
juvenile
work.
But
first
and
foremost
I
want
to
thank
city
council.
D
D
You
know
the
work
we're
doing
around
our
juveniles
and
diversion
is
eight
collaborating
partners
who
are
working
together
to
create
a
system,
that's
working
and
having
a
phenomenal
effect
on
our
school
district
in
the
school
to
prison
pipeline,
and
I
think
that
template
can
go
very
far
in
working
together
to
advance
those
things
that
need
to
be
done.
You
know,
anyone
who
does
not
recognize
that
reform
is
necessary
in
policing
is,
neces
is
missing.
The
boat
and
procedural
justice
is
not
just
about
policing.
D
Until
you
have
fairness
across
the
entire
system,
you
will
not
have
significant
change,
so
I
think
we
have
a
great
opportunity
to
move
forward
in
making
those
changes
in
the
collective
effort
again
protecting
the
rights
of
victims
that
they
are
part
of
this
process,
and
so
I
just
applaud
the
city
council
for
taking
this
time
to
really
get
focused
and
really
work
hard
sit
down.
Let's
roll
our
sleeves
up
and
get
to
work
and
see
if
we
really
can
make
some
demonstrative
differences
in
the
way
we
manage
our
system
as
it
is
today.
A
Thank
you,
commissioner,
commissioner,
once
a
commissioner
always
a
commissioner,
that's
what
they
tell
me,
I'm
understanding,
I'm
just
saying
we
also
have
as
members
of
the
committee,
and
I
want
to
thank
them
for
agreeing
to
spend
time
on
this
very,
very
critical
issue
in
this
format.
They've
already
done
a
lot
of
work
as
it
relates
to
that.
Well,
next,
up
we'll
have
councilman
johnson.
A
E
Thank
you,
council
president.
I
want
to
first
and
foremost
thank
you
for
the
appointment
and
providing
me
the
opportunity
to
participate
on
this
committee,
and
I
want
to
also
acknowledge
councilman
curtis
jones,
who
was
the
leading
foremost
council
person
as
related
to
the
issue
of
criminal
justice
reform,
and
I
remember
he
took
members
of
city
council
and
our
staff
members
to
new
york
to
look
at
different
models
as
it
relates
to
criminal
justice
reform
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
E
You
know
just
about
every
three
months,
either
my
staff
or
I
travel
up
to
greater
ford
prison.
We
work
with
the
lifers
under
a
program
called
fact:
it's
called
fathers
and
children
together
figuring
out
ways
to
create
a
partnership
between
fathers
who
are
doing
a
life
sentence
and
dear
children
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
E
It's
initiatives
like
this
that
will
allow
us
to
address
the
revolving
door
of
recidivism,
and
so
I'm
truly
honored
and
privileged
to
have
this
opportunity
to
participate
in
this
committee.
More
than
70
of
individuals
who
are
serving
time
in
our
state
prisons
on
the
state
level
are
those
who
are
arrested
for
mental
health
and
or
drug
offenses.
So
that's.
The
majority
of
individuals
who
are
serving
time
are
non-violent
offenders.
E
But,
most
importantly,
when
we
put
together
these
committees
a
lot
of
times,
you
have
people
who
want
to
be
a
part
of
it
because
they
think
of
the
level
of
prestige
or
they
get
to
put
it
on
their
resume.
But
I
could
truly
honestly
say
that
the
individuals
who
are
part
of
this
committee-
these
are
people.
I've
worked
with
in
the
vineyard.
Rather,
it's
been
on,
formerly
deputy
commissioner
kevin
bethel,
who
worked
in
the
17th
police
district
in
south
philadelphia,
where
he
was
a
new
captain.
E
I
was
a
staff
member
for
senator
anthony
hardy
williams
and
we
work
consistently
on
the
ground
on
addressing
the
issue
of
youth
gun
violence
in
south
philadelphia
and
just
to
show
how
much
his
heart
and
passion
was
in
a
dressing
issue.
He
stepped
up
and
adopted
a
young
man
and
became
his
mentor
in
the
neighborhood
so
that
young
man
wouldn't
go
on
to
a
life
of
crime
and
violence,
and
also
working
with
ms
schwartzman,
when
I
was
a
former
state.
Rep
in
harrisburg,
worked
very
closely
with
the
prison
society.
E
I
was
actually
the
first
person
to
introduce
house
bill
in
1999
which
would
allow
juveniles
who
were
serving
a
life
sentence.
The
opportunity
to
come
up
for
parole
and
her
organization
was
was
on
the
forefront
in
support
of
our
efforts
and
who,
who
doesn't
know
mr
tariq
shabazz,
former
district
attorney,
but,
most
importantly,
a
advocate
for
human
rights.
Stepping
up
to
the
plate
challenging
the
system
to
make
sure
that,
just
because
a
person
is
arrested,
they
still
deserve
a
fair
trial.
E
They
still
deserve
justice
and
I
look
forward
to
working
for
ms
kiera
bradford,
chief
of
the
philadelphia
defenders,
association
and
your
reputation
definitely
precedes
you,
and
so
I
like
the
fact
that
councilman
clark,
as
he
always
does,
he
did
his
due
diligence
in
putting
together
a
very
thoughtful
and
pragmatic
group
of
individuals,
who's
passionate
about
the
issue.
So
thank
you
very
much
and
look
forward
to
getting
to
work.
F
Good
morning,
first,
I
want
to
thank
council
president
daryl
clark,
along
with
council,
for
even
coming
up
division
to
put
this
type
of
program.
Together
there
is
a
young
man
who
was
in
harrisburg.
I
believe
it's
your
mentee,
jordan
harris
jordan
harris
began
his
political
career
at
the
age
of
seven
and
a
half
or
eight.
He
was
a
member
of
a
program
that
I
was
engaged
in
called
say
yes
to
health.
F
It
was
developed
by
the
late,
dr
walter
mullomax
at
that
time,
at
seven
years
old,
seven
and
a
half
years
old
jordan
trying
to
get
his
own
way.
I
don't
know
what
kind
of
way
you
can
get
together
at
seven
or
seven
and
a
half,
but
this
young
man
used
to
get
in
front
of-
I
don't
know:
30
children
and
some
other
adults
and
talk
about
his
aspirations.
F
Those
aspirations
based
upon
guidance
and
based
upon
involvement
led
to
him
now
being
at
the
state
house,
and
I
think
that
that
speaks
to
what
we're
going
to
try
to
do
since
this
african
history
month.
Let's
talk
about
african
history,
one
of
the
greatest
sayings
in
the
african-american
community
is
that
it
takes
a
village
to
raise
a
child.
Well,
let's
change
it
a
little
bit
and
talk
about
taking
a
village
to
raise
a
community.
F
F
I'm
going
to
be
sure
about
that
and
disagreeing,
but
in
that
disagreeing
just
like
a
diamond
in
it
is
a
lump
of
coal,
but
it's
the
pressure
that's
put
on
the
diamond.
That
makes
it
one
of
the
most
precious
gems
that
we
have.
We
hope
to
come
up
with
some
solutions
that
will
bring
recidivism
down.
That
will,
in
fact,
encourage
hope
in
our
youth
so
that
they
begin
to
put
down
guns
and
put
down
being
pharmaceutical
salesmen
without
first
going
to
college
and
begin
to
do
things
that
will
be
beneficial
to
us.
F
G
I
too
want
to
thank
council
president
and
members
of
council
and
all
the
people
that
will
be
involved
in
the
commission
for
this
effort.
The
prison
society
was
established
228
years
ago
by
ben
franklin
and
all
of
the
active
colonialists
of
the
day.
We
have
been
looking
at
incarceration
and
prisons
and
what
we
are
finding
is
there
are
too
many
people
in
prison.
The
cost
is
too
great
and
there
are
too
many
people
impacted
by
the
system.
G
It's
time
we
really
take
a
look
at
what's
happening,
make
changes
that
are
smart
to
look
at
people
as
whole
human
beings
and
to
look
at
humanity
and
justice,
which
is
what
the
prison
society
is
all
about.
This
is
a
wonderful
effort.
It's
going
to
take
collaboration,
it's
going
to
take
a
lot
of
sweat
and
equity,
but
I
think
everybody
here
is
ready
to
roll
up
their
sleeves
and
jump
in.
We
just
saw
success
on
it
on
strengthening
the
ban,
the
box
measure,
and
we
can
build
on
that.
G
A
A
It's
time
to
get
moving
folks,
I
mean
the
sense
of
urgency,
from
a
community
perspective
from
a
holistic
perspective,
with
respect
to
the
individual's
lives
from
a
budgetary
perspective,
because
we
can't
keep
continuing
to
think
that
spending
35
000
a
year
on
an
individual
to
stay
in
prison
is
the
way
to
go.
It
makes
like
no
sense.
A
Last
week
we
had
a
press
conference
downstairs
where,
based
on
a
500
000
budget,
we
were
able
to
put
25
men
to
work
working
on
land
care
and
providing
them
educational
opportunities
to
ultimately
become
entrepreneurs
as
business
people.
You
know
you
got
to
be
proactive
with
this.
You
can't
just
keep
locking
people
up,
locking
people
up.
My
good
friend
former
commissioner
johnson
used
to
say
you
can't
arrest
your
way
out
of
the
problem.
He
is
absolutely
right,
so
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
so
much.
A
This
is
going
to
be
very
interesting
and
I
think
it's
going
to
be
extremely
productive,
real
quick
as
councilman
jones
referenced,
the
initial
individuals
or
categories
that
will
be
on
here.
The
mayor
will
shortly
be
naming
the
head
of
the
mayor's
criminal
justice,
also
known
as
cjab.
That
member
will
also
be
a
member
of
this
committee.
A
That
will
be
a
part
of
this
process,
but
I
think,
most
importantly,
we
will
have
individuals
who
have
been
both
perpetrators
and
both
victims
of
crime,
because
you
have
to
have
that
as
a
part
of
the
conversation
as
we
move
forward.
So
again,
I
want
to
thank
all
of
the
members
here
so
much.
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you
and
we
will
conclude.
A
B
I'm
I'm
open-minded
to
learn
so
the
macarthur
foundation
worked
with
the
last
administration
and
and
is
continuing
that
work
with
the
kenny
administration
to
take
a
hard
look
at
how
we
can
improve
upon
a
justice
system,
and
we
are
not.
We
are
building
upon
that
work.
They
produced
a
a
document
that
we
just
kind
of
took
a
look
at
it.
B
Had
a
process
chart
from
the
point
of
arrest
to
the
potential
point
of
release
that
had
hundreds
of
steps
on
it,
hundreds
of
possibilities,
each
one
of
those
steps,
cost
something
each
one
of
those
steps
could
be
enhanced
if
we
put
the
appropriate
resources
behind
it.
So
if
someone
is
in
incarcerated
because
they
haven't
gotten
a
risk
assessment
in
a
timely
fashion,
well,
that's
low-hanging
fruit.
B
If
president
judge
former
president
judge
now
justice
dougherty
talked
about
and
testified
in
these
chambers
that
a
hundred
more
gps
monitors
could
have
reduced
that
census
population,
so
we're
we're
going
to
stand
on
the
shoulders
of
giants
c,
jab
and
others
that
have
been
looking
at
this
issue.
What
we
hope
to
do
with
with
collaboration,
but
also
with
the
power
of
appropriation,
try
to
make
it
better
pccd.
C
But
pccd
has
always
been,
you
know,
an
ally
in
looking
at
some
of
our
criminal
justice
issues
and
our
smart
on
crime
initiatives,
and
I
think
that
there
will
definitely
be
a
likely
partner,
but
I
just
want
to
elaborate
on
our
macarthur
efforts.
We
just
submitted
a
proposal
to
reduce
our
prison
population
by
34
is
a
very
aggressive
goal,
but
I
see
when
I
sit
in
there
with
all
of
our
stakeholders.
I
think
we
can't
we
come
up
with
some
very
practical
approaches
which
make
it
very
likely
that
this
is
something
that
we're
looking
at.
C
As
for
for
long-term
sustainability,
I
do
echo
council
president
councilman's
president
clark's
sentiments
that
we
have
to
engage
the
community
in
this.
We
cannot
do
it
as
stakeholders
alone.
We
have
to
understand
real
information
from
them
about
what
would
make
their
communities
stronger
and
where
are
the
gaps
that
help
that
contribute
to
some
of
their
people
coming
into
the
system.
B
A
A
So
we're
stepping
in
now
and
the
city
is
putting
money
in
to
ensure
that
there
are
after
school
programs
and
the
pal
organization
is
going
to
be
running
programs
out
of
there
that
that's
not
discussed
in
cj
or
the
macarthur.
It
is
in
the
arthur
foundation.
So
what
we
have
to
do
is
be
extremely
creative.
I
want
to
really
focus
on
the
front
side
of
this
challenge.
A
As
I
said,
there
should
be
at
some
point
a
day
when
we
have,
frankly
speaking
vacancy
signs
on
the
doors
of
every
prison
right
right,
because
people
are
no
longer
going
to
prison.
So
those
are
the
kind
of
things
that
we're
going
to
have,
and
this
gives
us
an
opportunity
to
have
a
very,
very
public
discussion,
and,
ultimately,
I
mean
council
has
been
known
to
be
a
entity
that
will
use
this
bully
pulpit
to
get
things
moving.
A
B
One
other
connect
the
dots
again.
I
can't
over
emphasize
appropriations.
You
can
point
at
a
thing,
but
until
you're
committed
to
help
pay
for
that
thing,
what
does
it
mean?
There
are
startling
statistics
that
we
hear
about
during
the
budget
process
every
year.
There's
a
direct
correlation
between
literacy
at
the
time
of
fourth
grade
in
reading
that
a
engineer
social
engineer
can
predict
the
number
of
cells
to
build
by
the
time
a
individual
is
18..
B
Well,
if
you
know
that,
if
you
know
better,
you
should
do
better,
we
should
invest
in
early
childhood
education,
so
we
have
the
ability-
and
president
clark
is,
and,
along
with
the
mayor,
have
been
talking
about
community
schools
and
things
like
that.
So
cgab
can't
directly
impact
what
the
src
prioritizes
by
way
of
public
safety
and
then
also
prevention
of
criminal
activities
going
forward.
We
can.
A
Well,
one
thing:
I've
learned
as
a
council
president:
you
establish
the
process
and
you
put
somebody
else
in
charge.
Then
you
walk
away
so
the
the
three
co-chairs,
along
with
the
committee,
I
guess
within
the
next
week
or
so,
will
actually
lay
out
tomorrow
tomorrow,
one
of
the
co-chairs
here
tomorrow.
The
simple
reality
is
that
we
anticipate
we'll
replicate
the
process
that
was
done
with
the
special
committee
for
demolition
and
we
had
a
time.