Petty Crimes, Serious Time: Plug Prison Pipeline, Newark Man Says

NEWARK, NJ — When Rick Robinson was growing up in Newark, he learned something at an early age: the world isn’t always fair – especially when it comes to who gets sent to prison. And even now, decades later, what he saw as a child has stuck with him.

But there is a path forward, Robinson says.

Last week, Robinson, the chair of the Newark NAACP criminal justice committee, testified before the New Jersey Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee in support of A-4663. If it becomes law, the bill would invest $8.4 million in state funding to create a two-year “Restorative Justice in Communities Pilot Program” in the state.

Read the full text of the bill.

The program would focus its efforts on “reducing initial and repeat youth involvement with the youth justice system,” something direly needed in New Jersey, Robinson said.

Robinson’s full testimony to the committee on Jan. 27 follows below.

“All of my young days growing up in the housing projects in the city of Newark, NJ, I witnessed relatives and friends – who committed small, low-level crimes – receive harsh and punitive sentences, spending long stints in far-away youth prisons and detention centers. One day, I am playing football, basketball or baseball in Little League games with them, and the next day I hear that they were locked up and sent away for petty crimes. Visitation to their new homes was always awful and it seemed the youth prisons they occupied for years did not look to rehabilitate them at all. The housing was atrocious and the unforgiving treatment they endured because they were merely Black/Brown youngsters just hardened them, consequently leading most of them to a life of continuous incarceration, which penalized everyone from their neighborhood and society as a whole.

“During my high school and college years, I made visits to the different prisons around the state to try to inspire them to become better individuals, but the treatment they dealt with on a daily basis was unimaginable. In addition, the archaic institutions they served out their sentences in did not motivate or encourage them to change their lives. How could it? Most of these places looked like slave-confined quarters and fostered the concept of ‘no hope.’ As a youngster myself, I often prayed for them and for a change in the system that brutally, attacked their physical, mental and social health, but nothing transpired – until now.

“We have an opportunity to change the landscape for our young boys and girls throughout the state of New Jersey, involving youth incarceration. By supporting the Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program Bill (A4663), society will embrace a meaningful return on this investment in many different ways. This piece of legislation will not only provide the state with a better cost/benefit analysis, regarding state budget spending, but it will direct our young boys and girls to become productive citizens in society.

“In support of this bill, New Jersey will benefit from the many positive outcomes outlined in the Youth Justice Toolkit that is spearheaded by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

“Short-term, the pilot will positively assist in our Juvenile Justice Commission’s task to finally close Jamesburg and Hayes youth prisons and find restorative alternatives for our youth. Long-term, this legislation will benefit New Jersey and, hopefully, will lead the nation in youth decarceration and the development of a community-based system of care for our young people.”

• See related article: NJ Police Just Got 5 Tools To Help Juveniles Avoid Jail Time
• See related article: Teens Rally In Newark: 'Build Up Kids, Not Prisons'

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