Tell Legislators to STOP Incarceration for Technical Violations

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The message:

Delaware should not lock people up for technical violations when no new crime has been committed.

Technical violations are not crimes. They are violations of probation rules like curfew, substance use testing requirements, and reporting changes in employment or address. Currently, a person who is found to have committed any technical violation—no matter how minor—can be sent back to prison. This disrupts their lives and their reentry process and can cause them to lose their housing, employment, and more.

A successful probation system prioritizes keeping people out of prison and helping rebuild lives. Delaware should use community-based interventions and accountability measures for technical violations. Incarceration should be a last resort.

The impact:

Delaware continues to have one of the highest incarceration rates in the northeast corridor—higher than Maryland, New Jersey, New York and other states on the east coast—and reincarceration for minor technical violations continues to drive that rate up.

The people of Delaware deserve a probation system that measures its effectiveness by the number of people who successfully reenter their communities, not the number of violations it issues. Furthermore, whether an individual faces incarceration after a technical violation should not depend on the county they live in or which probation officer they have been assigned.

By providing clear guidelines regarding violation sanctions and using community-based interventions to impose appropriate consequences, Delaware can address technical violations without destroying an individual’s hard work to rebuild their lives after incarceration.

Join us in calling for systemic change by signing this petition urging state legislators to STOP incarceration for technical violations.

Review Message

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Subject:

Subject STOP Incarceration for Technical Violations.

Body:

Delaware has recently taken important strides forward in reforming our probation system, but there is still work to be done. Thousands of Delawareans on probation still face the threat of being locked up again despite not committing any new crimes.

It's time to end this circular pathway to reimprisonment.

That’s why I'm calling on you to support probation reform for technical violations and help Delaware build a system that actually supports reentry and rehabilitation.

A successful probation system prioritizes keeping people on probation out of prison and helping them rebuild their lives. The people of Delaware deserve a probation system that measures its effectiveness by the number of people who successfully reenter their communities, not the number of violations it issues.

Can I count on you to help put an end to the use of incarceration for technical violations?

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Your Message

Subject STOP Incarceration for Technical Violations.

It's time to end this circular pathway to reimprisonment.

That’s why I'm calling on you to support probation reform for technical violations and help Delaware build a system that actually supports reentry and rehabilitation.

Message Body

Can I count on you to help put an end to the use of incarceration for technical violations?

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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