Repair New Jersey’s Parole System

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The purpose of parole is to help facilitate re-entry, not continue to penalize and punish those who have already served their time. But our current parole system makes it difficult for those attempting to rebuild their lives to fulfill the conditions of their parole, leading to far too many people, especially those in recovery, being reincarcerated for technical parole violations.

The Substance Abuse Recovery and Accountability Act (A5311/S4492) will ensure that technical parole violations – which have nothing to do with someone’s risk to public safety – do not automatically lead to lengthy reincarceration. It is a critical move toward repairing New Jersey's parole system while advancing public safety, reducing unnecessary incarceration, strengthening reentry outcomes, and using taxpayer dollars responsibly.

Technical parole violations are not crimes; a person can be found in violation of the administrative or supervisory terms of parole by being late to a check-in, missing curfew, or failing to report a new address on time. They are not threats to public safety, and do not necessitate reincarceration for people who are facing real re-entry challenges like transportation issues, unstable housing, changes in work schedules, or difficulty accessing medical treatment.

Send a message to your lawmakers now and urge them to pass the Substance Abuse Recovery and Accountability Act (A5311/S4492).

The recipients:

Governor Mikie Sherrill

Senate President Nicholas Scutari

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin

Senator Linda R. Greenstein

Senator Brian P. Stack

Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley

Assemblyman Julio Marenco

Your State Senator

Your State Assembly Representatives

The message:

Send a message to your lawmakers now and urge them to pass the Substance Abuse Recovery and Accountability Act (A5311/S4492).

The recipients:

Governor Mikie Sherrill

Senate President Nicholas Scutari

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin

Senator Linda R. Greenstein

Senator Brian P. Stack

Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley

Assemblyman Julio Marenco

Your State Senator

Your State Assembly Representatives

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Your Message

Subject Repair New Jersey’s parole system.

New Jersey’s current parole system makes it extremely difficult for those seeking to succeed after release to remain out of prison. Those on parole face real challenges, like transportation issues, unstable housing, changes in work schedules, or difficulty accessing treatment that far too often land them in violation of the administrative or supervisory terms of their parole and leading them to being reincarcerated. This means that they end up back in prison without having committed any new crimes and without posing a risk to public safety. It’s past time for that to change.

Message Body

This urgent legislation will:

Prioritize treatment over incarceration for addiction, limiting reincarceration when someone on parole relapses and empowering officers to connect people to community-based treatment rather than incarceration.

Incentivize and reward success by encouraging early discharge after two to five years for fully compliant individuals who pose no public safety risk.

Cap incarceration for non-criminal violations at 364 days and allow people to serve that time in county jail instead of state prison, keeping them closer to family and support systems.

Protect basic rights at revocation including ensuring any arrest warrant for a revocation is reviewed within seven days, guaranteeing access to evidence before a hearing, and requiring the Parole Board to consider holistic factors when determining the appropriate response to violations.

Give officers more tools by expanding the supervision toolkit, including direct referrals to treatment so officers can hold people accountable without defaulting to incarceration and the authority to recommend early discharge for those not charged with a sex offense or NERA offense, who have earned a second chance.

A5311/S4492 would advance public safety, reduce unnecessary incarceration, help address racial disparity in New Jersey prisons, strengthen reentry outcomes, and use taxpayer dollars responsibly. I strongly urge you to support this legislation and ensure New Jersey saves incarceration for those who pose a real threat to the public and gives second chances to those who are working to succeed after their release.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Repair New Jersey’s Parole System

Most recent signers:

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The message:

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