The Campaign to Close the Workhouse and Promote a New Vision for St. Louis, 2018
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-EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- The City of St. Louis condemns hundreds of mostly poor and Black people to suffer in unspeakably hellish and inhumane conditions at the “Workhouse,” officially known as the Medium Security Institution. Over 95% of people at the Workhouse are awaiting trial and remain incarcerated due to their inability to afford unusually high and unconstitutional cash bonds. They face horrific conditions in the jail, including extreme heat and cold, abysmal medical care, rats and cockroach infestations, and mold. The City of St. Louis spends over $16 million every year operating this facility with little public benefit. The arrest-and-incarcerate approach to public safety targeting the poor and Black communities in St. Louis not only ruins lives, but also does not make the city safer. The Workhouse represents one facet of a broader system of criminalization and marginalization in St. Louis. Lives are ruined every day by the Workhouse. Take Inez Bordeaux’s experience as an example of St. Louis’s past and present racial and class segregation, criminalization, and disinvestment: Inez spent 30 days in the jail when she was unable to afford bond set at $25,000 for a minor, technical probation offense. At the time, she earned $1,000 per month and was raising four children. Due to her incarceration, Inez lost her nursing license for a year and was separated from her children. Inez is now a leader in the Close the Workhouse campaign. The campaign calls for an immediate closure of the Workhouse, a reduced incarcerated population in St. Louis, and reallocation of current arrest-and- incarcerate funding into investments in community well-being. CONTENT OF THE REPORT 1. The Story of the Workhouse: Outlines a history of abuse, failed attempts at reform, and the resistance movement and calls for changes to the jail and the broader criminal legal system. 2. The People Harmed by the Workhouse: Outlines and humanizes who is incarcerated at the Workhouse, what people are charged with, what practices keep people detained, and the broader structural practices of marginalization when interacting with people’s realities of incarceration. 3. Why the Workhouse Must Close: Outlines the inhumane and unconstitutional conditions at the jail, the public cost of operating the jail, and St. Louis’s unconstitutional pretrial bail practices. 4. From Arrest-and-Incarcerate to Community Well-Being: Outlines the failure of St. Louis’s current approach to public safety premised on arresting and incarcerating individuals and promotes a new vision of public safety premised on programs that promote community well-being. 5. The Plan to Close the Workhouse: Outlines a plan calling on three institutional leaders (the Mayor, the Circuit Attorney, and the Board of Aldermen) to close the Workhouse, decarcerate St. Louis, and reinvest public funds in initiatives that promote a community well-being vision for public safety. 6. A Call to Action 2 OUR VALUES The Workhouse is part and parcel of a racialized system of mass incarceration that grew directly out of slavery and Jim Crow and works to perpetuate this shameful legacy in America. The story of the Workhouse illustrates this oppressive history. The demands proposed by the campaign aim to limit harms of mass incarceration, without legitimizing or justifying the continued caging of people as punishment. The Close the Workhouse campaign emerges from the outcry that was the Ferguson Uprising. It’s grounded in a commitment to end an ongoing war against Black people that has been waged against generations of families in St. Louis. Our aim is not to reform but to deconstruct a racist system that has destroyed lives and to abolish the practice of criminalizing the poor. We embrace this task in order to vindicate the victims of the Workhouse and to secure future generations’ ability to thrive.1 This report is a collaboration of the individuals subjected to incarceration at the Workhouse and lawyers and activists engaged on the issue. FINDINGS OF THE REPORT Nearly everyone incarcerated in the Workhouse has not been convicted of a crime and is legally presumed innocent. The Workhouse almost exclusively confines individuals awaiting trial. Many people are incarcerated in cages because they are poor. Most are charged with non-serious crimes related to their poverty. Over 10% of those awaiting trial ultimately have their charges dismissed after spending an average of 291 days in jail. Individuals remain incarcerated in the Workhouse solely because they cannot afford bond. Cash bail allows wealthy individuals to be released while confining the poor simply because they cannot pay. Unlike similar cities, St. Louis allows only 4% of individuals to be released on a promise to appear, instead setting a median bond of $25,000. This is completely unaffordable to the average St. Louisan who has a per capita income of $25,434. Nearly 90% of the individuals in the Workhouse are Black though only half of St. Louis’s population is Black. This outcome reflects the targeted policing and criminalization of segregated Black communities, especially communities in North St. Louis. Poor and homeless individuals and those facing mental illness are also disproportionately impacted. The inhumane and abusive conditions in the Workhouse violate the Constitution. Since opening in 1966, there has been a well-documented history of inhumane conditions at the Workhouse, continuing to today. In the last 5 years, there have been 6 documented deaths. Individuals incarcerated there endure extreme temperatures, inadequate sanitation, vermin infestations, and violence. These conditions violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. St. Louis spends $16 million every year to run the Workhouse without making us safer; these are funds that should be reinvested in policies to build strong, stable communities. Over half of St. Louis’s budget is devoted to “public safety”, but the current approach of policing and incarceration does not make us safer. These funds should be reinvested to promote a new vision of public safety that addresses the root causes of crime - like economic insecurity, lack of opportunity, living with a mental illness, and substance use disorders - to create lasting stability and safety. A portion of these funds should be used to retrain and rehire current employees at the Workhouse into other or new City employment. Reallocation of funding should occur through a participatory budgeting process that involves all residents in the city, especially the most impacted communities. 3 DEMANDS: T HE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE- This report outlines a clear plan to address a part of the broader system of criminalization and marginalization in St. Louis by outlining a set of steps to decarcerate the city, invest in all its communities through a new vision of public safety, and immediately close the Workhouse. Who must Close the Workhouse? Mayor Krewson: By calling for the immediate closure of the Workhouse and directing reinvestment of city funds into programs that promote a new vision of public safety. ➢ Circuit Attorney Gardner: By supporting the release of individuals currently detained pretrial, by choosing not to prosecute certain charges, and by supporting diversion approaches. ➢ Board of Aldermen: By reinvesting money out of arrest-and-incarcerate models of public safety and into a new vision of public safety centered around community well-being. ➢ How can we Close the Workhouse? See the Plan to Close the Workhouse on pages 31 to 38. Release individuals detained pretrial The Circuit Attorney’s Office should recommend automatic pretrial release for individuals charged with misdemeanors, victimless crimes, and poverty-related offenses. For other charges, there should be a presumption of release and individualized release determinations focused on meeting the needs of incarcerated peoples and eliminating threats to public safety. Conditions of release must take financial means into account and be the least burdensome means possible to ensure that the person returns to court. This would lead to a significant decrease in the incarcerated population. Close the Workhouse Mayor Krewson can direct the closure of the Workhouse. The Workhouse is controlled and operated by the City of St. Louis. As the political leader of St. Louis, she controls the jail through the Department of Public Safety and can choose to immediately close the jail. Decline to prosecute and criminalize individuals The Circuit Attorney’s Office should decline prosecutions of victimless and poverty-related offenses and divert those individuals towards health, economic, and treatment opportunities. This would lead to a significant decrease in the incarcerated population in St. Louis. The Office must also dismiss similar pending charges. Decisions not to prosecute should be categorical and not based on an individual’s criminal background. Where the Circuit Attorney’s office decides to prosecute an individual, they should prioritize their entry into pre-plea diversion programs and work with individuals to address underlying issues such as housing insecurity or substance abuse that can lead to continued interactions with the criminal legal system. Reinvest money from arrest-and-incarcerate to community well-being The City of St. Louis should reinvest the $16 million it currently spends to operate the Workhouse. The St. Louis Board of Aldermen, along with the Mayor, should vote to fund initiatives that improve public safety through a focus on community well-being instead of police and incarceration, addressing the root causes of crime. Community well-being priorities should be defined through community participation in a participatory budgeting process. 4 OUR PARTNERS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report reflects the leadership and experience of individuals inside and outside of the Workhouse who have been impacted by the systems we seek to change. The Close the Workhouse Campaign is led by four core partners: Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, the Bail Project, and MORE (Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment). Nearly 30 organizations across St. Louis have already signed on in support of the Campaign to Close the Workhouse. Please see the Close the Workhouse campaign website for the full list of campaign partners. We would like to thank the contributions of our research team coordinated by ArchCity Defenders. Research, data, and stories were compiled throughout 2018 and are on file at ArchCity Defenders. The report’s design, research, and drafting was led by ArchCity Defenders’ Staff Attorney Sima Atri, with significant support from ArchCity Defenders’ 2018 summer interns including Luce Randall, Dara Jackson-Garrett, Sonya Levitova, Mara Roth, Leila Atri, Corri Mader, Andi Taverna, and Amari Fennoy and ArchCity Defenders’ staff including Blake Strode, Jacki Langum, and Rebecca Gorley. We would also like to thank our campaign partners for their contributions, including Montague Simmons, Michelle Higgins, Inez Bordeaux, Janos Marton and staff at the Advancement Project. Graphic design support for the report from Young Kwon and Christina Isaiah. We thank everyone who spoke with the research team and agreed to include their stories as examples of the marginalizing systems that exist in St. Louis, especially Jasmine Borden, Inez Bordeaux, Gerald Wortham, and Diedre Wortham. Thank you to our Black-owned union printshop: Pelican Printing. “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” - Fannie Lou Hamer This report is produced by the Close the Workhouse Campaign. www.closetheworkhouse.org #closetheworkhouse 5 --------- CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE:----------- - TABLE OF CONTENTS --------------- A Plan to Close the Workhouse, Decarcerate Our City, and Reinvest in Community Well-being EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2 THE STORY OF THE WORKHOUSE 7 1. A History of Abuse 2. Another Jail Beyond Reform 3. Resistance and the Movement for Change THE PEOPLE HARMED BY THE WORKHOUSE 11 1. The People: In Profile 2. The People: In Numbers 3. The Disproportionate Impact of the Workhouse and Cycles of Incarceration on Black and Poor Communities WHY THE WORKHOUSE MUST CLOSE ( and no new jail should replace it) 20 1. The Workhouse must close due to Inhumane & Unconstitutional Conditions 2. The Workhouse must close due to the Public Cost of Operating the Jail 3. The Workhouse must close due to Unconstitutional Pretrial Bail Practices FROM ARREST & INCARCERATE TO COMMUNITY WELL-BEING 27 1. St. Louis’s Current Approach to “Public Safety” is Not Working 2. Investing in Community Well-Being: A New Vision THE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE 31 1. How St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson Can Close the Workhouse 2. How St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner Can Close the Workhouse 3. How the St. Louis Board of Aldermen Can Close the Workhouse 39 CALL TO ACTION 6 ----------THE STORY OF THE WORKHOUSE--------- The history of the Workhouse is a story of exploitation of the poor and communities of color. St. Louis’s first jail began as a literal Workhouse, serving as a labor camp and debtors’ prison in the 1800s. The modern Workhouse has a long, well-documented history of continued inhumane conditions and abuses. This report and campaign is grounded on years of documentation and mounting pressure through protests and lawsuits calling for change. -A HISTORY OF ABUSE- The history of the Workhouse is a story of the exploitation of already marginalized St. Louis communities. Over the years, there have been trails of evidence that document the inhumane living conditions, violence, and corruption in the Workhouse.2 The history of the Workhouse is grounded in St. Louis’s segregated history, disproportionately harming Black communities and notoriously caging and depriving the poor of freedom in the name of public safety through the criminal legal system. Since its inception, jails in St. Louis, including the Workhouse, have notoriously housed and harmed the poorest and most marginalized members of our community. 1843: A ST. LOUIS CITY ORDINANCE ESTABLISHES THE WORKHOUSE. The first St. Louis Workhouse was established in 1843,3 roughly twenty years after Missouri was granted statehood as a slave-holding Union State through the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Workhouse was located in South St. Louis at the corner of Broadway and Meramec Street.4 At the original Workhouse–a debtors’ prison–the poor and destitute in St. Louis were sentenced to manual labor crushing limestone for city streets when unable to pay their fines.5 Poverty was at the root of people’s incarceration: “The reason why these men are in chains in the St. Louis Workhouse is because they are poor. Probably many of them are innocent, but certainly every one is ‘broke’. There would be no more chance of a man with money having chains put on him in tWorkhouse than there would be a of a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Has it come to this–that poverty itself has become a crime?”7 (Post Dispatch, 1905) As the Missouri Historical Society writes: “All day long, inmates toiled making little stones out of big ones. Women were sentenced to the Workhouse right beside men, and in 1875 alone more than 1,100 women picked up their hammers and headed to the rock yards.”6 This question continues to resound loudly in the jail’s current form 113 years later. The Workhouse largely serves as a cage for people waiting for trial and too poor to afford to pay for their freedom.8 Headline from a 1905 Post-Dispatch Article Referencing the Workhouse 7 .ANOTHER JAIL BEYOND REFORM. The current Workhouse was opened in 19669 and mirrored its historical roots as it continued to incarcerate those too poor to afford their freedom from the inhumane conditions. The Workhouse soon became the target of lawsuits and judicial interference due to the conditions in the jail: including inadequate sanitation, poor air quality and ventilation, and abuse by guards.10 Many of these same conditions continue today.11 The jail’s history provides one reason among many why the jail is beyond reform and must be closed. Image of the newly constructed Workhouse from 1966 (Photo from Post-Dispatch) 1966: CURRENT WORKHOUSE IS BUILT. Court ordered certain conditions- related reforms and capped the jail’s capacity at 228 prisoners. In 1966, the City moved the Workhouse from South Broadway to North St. Louis.12 This move to North St. Louis mimicked the racialized migration patterns of the mid-twentieth century in St. Louis, where white and richer communities moved toward South St. Louis and Black communities were segregated in Northern areas.13 The current structure sits on Hall Street. In 1982, after extending the conditions evaluation to the Workhouse, Eastern District of Missouri Federal Court Judge Clyde Cahill made a similar determination of the Workhouse’s inhumane conditions and ordered basic improvements to the facility and its offered services be made.15 1990: A FEDERAL JUDGE HIGHLIGHTS THE JAIL’S SYSTEMIC EXPLOITATION OF THE POOR. 1974: ST. LOUIS IS SUED FOR INHUMANE CONDITIONS AT THE ST. LOUIS CITY JAIL AND THE WORKHOUSE. In a scathing 1990 opinion, Judge Cahill described the systemic and disparate oppression promoted by the jail16 in response to the lawsuit brought against the City for the conditions at the Workhouse. He found that targeted police actions and an aggressive overuse of the criminal legal system resulted in the mass incarceration of Black men and the poor at the Workhouse. In 1974, individuals detained at the old City Jail on 14th and Tucker brought a class action civil rights lawsuit against the City for inhumane conditions. In Tyler v. Percich, individuals detained described inoperative toilets, inadequate ventilation, inadequate lighting, and infestations of rats and insects. The jail was overcrowded and individuals were confined for 24 hours a day without recreational opportunities.14 “Certain neighborhoods in St. Louis have become the target of intensive police activity. . . . These intrusive tactics, coupled with detention because of poverty, lead to a destruction of confidence in the criminal justice system.”17 The Court found that the conditions at the City Jail violated the rights of those incarcerated guaranteed by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The judge ordered that the jail be closed. Upon appeal, the Judge Cahill noted the City courts’ and prosecutors’ frequent refusals to give low bonds or recognizance bonds for low-level offenses and drug offenses. The 8 refusal meant that they were using jail as the default which contributed to problems of overcrowding in the City jails. “Prisons and punishment alone cannot be the answer—there must be encouragement, assistance and above all, confidence in the fairness of the legal system. Mass detention for petty offenses now may give temporary relief but it only postpones the misery to come. Most of the persons now arrested for these drug-related offenses are young black men from North St. Louis. Their prospects are as bleak as their surroundings. . .While the racial connotations of this issue are seldom mentioned, they may, nonetheless, be a factor in the public’s perception of the drug problem. There are myths, which have been partially developed by the media, that only minorities are involved with drugs. The City’s prison population, nearly all black, perpetuates this misconception. The Court does not believe that racial identity is used as a factor in these matters; but nonetheless, because most blacks who are arrested are poor, they are more likely to be detained when denied recognizance.”18 Post-Dispatch article announcing the opening of the City Justice Center in 2002 2009: ACLU RELEASES A SCATHING REPORT ON ABUSES IN THE WORKHOUSE. In light of continued inhumane conditions in St. Louis’s city jails, advocates continued to mount pressure for change. In 2009, the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) of Eastern Missouri released a report outlining rampant abuses, policy violations, overcrowding, negligence, staff assaults on individuals, systematic cover-up of incidents by staff and higher-ups, and squalid conditions inside of the Workhouse.22 Decades after Tyler v. Percich, the inhumane conditions in the Workhouse bear a startling resemblance to the conditions found decades ago. 2002: A NEW CITY JAIL IS BUILT ALONGSIDE THE WORKHOUSE. The City of St. Louis spent over $80 million dollars constructing the City Justice Center, the City’s new city jail.19 Although this "state-of-the-art" jail across from City Hall is plagued by a culture of violence and inhumane incarceration, the difference in the cost of design and construction alone reveals the deficiencies of the Workhouse. Adjusted for inflation, the difference in expenses between the two facilities is stark; today, the City Justice Center would cost around $111 Million to build while the Workhouse could be constructed for only $15 Million.20 Despite pressure to decrease numbers of incarcerated people in St. Louis, in 2002, the City also completed an extension to the existing Workhouse complex and increased its capacity to 1,222 beds.21 2013: ABUSE BY WORKHOUSE GUARDS ESCALATES. The Workhouse is infamous not only as a debtors’ prison and for its inhumane conditions, but also because of its documented history of violence by jail guards.23 For example: ● In April 2013, seven guards were fired from the Workhouse for using excessive force against a detainee. This incident was only made public years later.24 ● In May 2013, the Department of Justice published a report classifying the Workhouse as a facility with a “high rate of staff sexual misconduct”. In a survey of 358 jails across the country, the Workhouse ranked third for reports of sexual misconduct by staff.25 9 ● In August 2013, two guards pled guilty to hosting fights among detainees after being caught on camera doing so.26 Individuals detained at the Workhouse reported “gladiator-style” fights where guards would take people out of their cells, into common areas, and force them to fight each other.27 The rampant and varied abuses documented for over 100 years in St. Louis’s jails have life or death consequences for those incarcerated there.28 RESISTANCE AND THE MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE- organized to raise $25,000 to free people held pretrial who could not afford to buy their freedom by paying bond. 2017: PEOPLE DETAINED AT THE WORKHOUSE SUE THE CITY. Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse brought another class action civil rights suit around inhumane conditions at the jail.31 The lawsuit describes conditions amounting to “cruel and unusual” punishment and violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is ongoing as of this report’s publication. Protestors demand Workhouse closure during 2017 heat wave. 2017: A HEAT WAVE BRINGS PROTESTS AND DEMANDS TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE. 2018: THE CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE CAMPAIGN Calls for change continued to mount, leading to LAUNCHES. large public calls for the jail’s closure amidst a heat wave in the summer of 2017.29 In July 2017, In 2018, individuals previously incarcerated at the temperatures reached a record high of 108 30 Workhouse partnered with Fahrenheit. People inside community organizations, the jail could be heard legal advocates, and allies to screaming through the jail’s launch the Close the windows pleading for their Workhouse campaign.32 The lives. campaign is intentionally grounded in the leadership of The St. Louis community people directly impacted by the organized a noise horrors of the Workhouse. The demonstration outside the campaign calls for a jail to show solidarity with permanent closure of the people inside the Workhouse, decarceration Workhouse. Activists called reforms so no new jail is built, on officials to close the and more equitable Workhouse. ArchCity investments of funds currently Defenders, Action St. Louis, used to operate the jail. Protestors rally at the Close the Workhouse and Decarcerate St. Louis Campaign launch in July 2018 10 ----- THE PEOPLE HARMED---- ----------- BY THE WORKHOUSE--------------- The Workhouse is a blight on the City of St. Louis and we are all worse off for allowing it to remain open. The Workhouse disproportionately impacts specific communities in St. Louis and mirrors the targeting of police arrest practices and other structurally marginalizing state institutions and practices. The vast majority of people at the Workhouse have not been convicted of any crime; are there because they have been targeted, over-charged and cannot afford to pay for their freedom; and most are Black men who lack representation. The Workhouse harms not only those incarcerated, but also their families and communities. The impact of even one day in the Workhouse can be devastating for someone’s life. While incarcerated, people lose their jobs, housing, and income, in addition to the immediate loss of one’s liberty. The following stories are from leaders of the Campaign to Close the Workhouse and depict some of the realities of the Workhouse. INEZ BORDEAUX: THE HOPELESSNESS OF THE WORKHOUSE “I say all the time that the Workhouse is a hopeless place. When you first walk in you can feel the hopelessness. You can feel the desperation.” Inez Bordeaux is a St. Louis native, who ended up in the Workhouse awaiting a court hearing for allegedly violating probation. She was sentenced to probation but never assigned a probation officer and so did not report. In spring 2016, she was stopped while driving and arrested for failing to report to a non-existent probation officer, and transferred to the Workhouse. Inez’s bond was set at $25,000. She earned less than $1,000 per month. Unable to pay even 10% of her $25,000 bond, she spent 30 days in the Workhouse awaiting a probation violation hearing. During those 30 days, Inez describes the Workhouse as a hopeless place with black mold on the walls, stopped up toilets, holes in the ceiling, and rats running under cell doors. A mother of four, Inez was held in solitary confinement for the first three days in the Inez at a Close the Workhouse Campaign Workhouse after being deemed a suicide risk. meeting in the summer of 2018 “The nurse she deemed me a suicide risk because I was upset and I was crying about being in jail. I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place possible.” Inez said. “And so they deemed me a suicide risk and they took me to the women’s pod and they took all my clothes away. They gave me a suicide smock and they left me in that room for three days.” Inez has twenty-years experience working as a Licensed Practical Nurse and knew better. “I know for a fact that when someone has mental health issues, if someone does have suicidal ideation, if someone is having 11 .. thoughts about harming themselves, you don’t lock them in a room for three days. You don’t.” Today, Inez continues to feel the impact of the Workhouse on her life. On what she lost while in the Workhouse, Inez said,“The time with my kids, the educational opportunities, the jobs, the money.” Because of her incarceration, Inez lost her nursing license and spent a year trying to get it back. She is working as a nurse again and back with her children. Now, she is committed to leading the movement to close the Workhouse. JASMINE BORDEN: THE DESTABILIZATION OF FAMILY LIFE AND THWARTED DREAMS Jasmine Borden moved to St. Louis in hopes of a better life for her and her four children. Her sister told her that St. Louis would offer her better opportunities than she had in Sacramento, California, where she was born and raised. Her life in St. Louis was going well—she had a job, her kids were in daycare, she had a house she liked, a landlord she got along with, and she had even bought a car so that she could pick up some extra shifts at work. Jasmine said, “I was living the American Dream when out of nowhere my life just changed. It changed all because I got arrested while driving.” In the summer of 2017, police arrested Jasmine after she got into a car accident. Her bond was set at $10,000 and the judge ordered that it must be paid in full with cash in order for her to be released. On that day, Jasmine remembers thinking, “I don't have $10,000 just saved away in an account somewhere. So, that that was the scariest thing because I realized, ‘How long do I have to wait to make this bond? How can I make this bond? Who is going to post this bond? When is my next court date?’” Jasmine realized that to fight her charge meant she would remain incarcerated. “I was living the American Dream … It changed all because I got arrested.” Jasmine describes the Workhouse as a place unfit for any human being. “The conditions that you’re living in: the mold, the rats, the recycled air. You can’t even go outside and get fresh air,” Jasmine said. When Jasmine finally obtained free representation with the Public Defenders’ office two months later, her lawyer argued a bond reduction motion. The judge reset her bond to 10% cash on a $5,000 bond; the community could pay the $500 bond so she could escape the Workhouse. While she was incarcerated, Jasmine lost her income leading to her losing her housing and many of her belongings. She was also separated from her children who were bounced around homes, living with her relatives. Jasmine’s harrowing experience at the Workhouse has had a long-term effect on her life, impacting her mental health, and leaving her concerned about the residual emotional distress her children might experience from the family’s separation. Though Jasmine has worked hard to successfully rebuild her life after her incarceration, she still lives in constant fear that everything may fall apart again. “The Workhouse has changed my life so dramatically. I'm still a part of it because at any time anything I do can end me up back there.” 12 . . GERALD WORTHAM: A NEARLY FATAL INCARCERATION IN THE. WORKHOUSE AND THE PROFITEERING SUPERVISION SYSTEM . . Gerald Wortham’s experiences in the Workhouse were not only emotionally devastating, but nearly fatal. Gerald was arrested in May 2017 and brought to the Workhouse. Gerald suffers from sickle cell anemia, a genetic blood disorder that can cause severe medical complications and a disease that disproportionately impacts Black people. The conditions at the Workhouse exacerbated the symptoms of Gerald’s illness and the inadequate medical care offered him no treatment. The jail’s excessive heat left him dangerously dehydrated. The exposure to dirt, black mold, and biological contaminants in the Workhouse from rats and mice worsened Gerald’s breathing problems and increased his oxygen deprivation. Gerald felt his health deteriorating and asked to visit the nurse. The nurse took his vitals and assured a distressed Gerald that he was okay. Gerald was sent back to his cell where he sat suffering for another four days. Corrections officers refused to provide Gerald with his needed medications for his sickle cell anemia and instead laughed at his pain. On his fifth day at the Workhouse, Gerald fell unconscious in a chair while he was waiting to eat. “I was only in there for 5 days and I was losing my life.” “I was only [in the Workhouse] for five days and I was losing my life.” Gerald said, “I was suffering for 5 days and it took like a head nurse to actually look up my medical records and see that I didn't belong in there.” It was only then that Gerald was transported to the hospital and, on that same day, he was able to pay his bond and was freed from St. Louis’s custody. “I feel like I saved my own life by paying for my freedom.” He was released directly to the hospital. One condition of his bond required Gerald to report to a private supervision company at a cost of $300 per month. Gerald cannot afford this and risks being re-arrested and returned to the Workhouse, where he fears he could be the jail’s latest death statistic. “It seems that the inhumane conditions are getting worse. This jail should have been shut down by now. This is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.” “I have suffered greatly while incarcerated at the Workhouse. My mental health was heavily impacted and my family has yet to recover from the devastation that followed my incarceration at the facility.” “There is no panic button in case of emergency in our cells. The officers are supposed to check on the cells, but they only come if someone screams through the bottom of the door and they hear.” 13 THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHO IS INCARCERATED? It is difficult to get complete demographic, bond, charge, and case disposition data from the City of St. Louis. The City selectively releases data in a way that helps it justify its arrest-and-incarcerate model and the lack of transparency has made it difficult for many groups to organize around different approaches. We obtained data that provides a snapshot of the reality of the Workhouse, in numbers, from March 2018. This section breaks down the demographics of those in the Workhouse, their charges, and their average bond amounts. 50 Percentage 40 30 20 10 0 21 and Under 21 22-31 22-31 32-41 42-51 52-61 62-71 32-41 42-51 52-61 62-71 Age Range Age demographics of individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse (City Population Data, 2018) Race and Sex of People at the Workhouse 1250 Number of People Incarcerated Ages of People at the Workhouse The bar graph to the right shows the age range of those detained at the Workhouse. Notably, 70% of those detained are between 22 and 41 years old, a time when many adults have many family and financial responsibilities.33 Taking into account the data from the graph below, incarcerating mostly young Black men during these formative years destabilizes Black communities and families, shifting a huge economic burden to Black women and other family members who are working and raising children. It also impacts opportunities available to individuals at the start of their adult lives. 1000 750 500 250 0 Black Men Men White Men Men Black Women Women White Women Race and Sex Information of People at the Workhouse (City Population Data, 2018) 14 The City of St. Louis is 49% Black,34 but the incarcerated population of the Workhouse is 89% Black.35 Black men constitute the overwhelming majority of people incarcerated at the Workhouse due to the targeting of Black communities for low-level crimes. This is due both to systemic racism in the policing and criminal legal system and social marginalization that has pushed Black communities into poverty. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department overpolices Black neighborhoods for low-level traffic infractions36 and criminal issues causing these communities to be trapped in a cycle of warrants, fees and fines, incarceration, and state surveillance.37 THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHAT THEY ARE CHARGED WITH? Understanding the background criminal charge justification for people’s incarceration is important, but should not be determinative of their treatment nor representative of their experience at the Workhouse. An evaluation of what people are charged with at the Workhouse demonstrates that the vast majority of people are detained pretrial despite the fact that they are charged only with non-serious and non-dangerous crimes. Flags: Why People are Incarcerated at the Workhouse ● The vast majority of people at the FELONY Workhouse have only been charged (not 38 convicted) of a crime. ● Charging decisions are made solely by the MISDEMEANOR Circuit Attorney’s Office and often based only on facts provided by the police on ORDINANCE police reports. Even the Circuit Attorney’s Office has admitted to the uncredible nature PAROLE VIOLATION of some of these reports.39 W/PENDING CHARGES ● Many of these charges will be dismissed or amended. TECHNICAL PROBATION VIOLATION ONLY ● Charge information may reflect a practice of overcharging by prosecutors’ offices PROBATION VIOLATION W/PENDING CHARGES pressuring individuals to plead. ● Charge information reflects a broader 0 0 50 50 100 150 200 250 300 100 150 200 250 300 350+ classification issue in Missouri where PRETRIAL PRETRIAL CONFINED CONFINED non-serious charges are over-classified as Graph depicting the legal justification for an individual’s incarceration felonies as opposed to misdemeanors in at the Workhouse (based on City Population data from 2018). other states. ● When discussing the criminal legal system, most people default to speaking in the language of the state. In this report, we do not use terms such as “inmate”, “criminal”, or “offender” because these words reduce a person to a one-dimensional identity, framed only as a threat, while removing the context of their situation, history, and role in the community. The people in the Workhouse are members of communities, neighbors, friends, and family. A Breakdown of what People are Charged with at the Workhouse Our Classification of Charges Serious Charges Less Serious Charges A graph illustrating a different categorization for charges of individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse. (based on March 2018 data on file at ArchCity Defenders) It is important that we re-examine our classification of charges in order to better understand what people are charged with and how the classification of crimes and charging decisions are used to justify pretrial detention. This chart and the categories defined by the Close the Workhouse team help us re-examine what constitutes a threat to public safety based on the seriousness of the crime charged. For the purposes of this chart, we defined less serious charges as all misdemeanors, drug-related charges, resisting arrest, and poverty crimes, such as stealing small amounts or being unable to afford child support. For serious offenses we included all charges that involved violence or would be in any way threatening to a community’s safety. 15 HOW ARE CRIMES CATEGORIZED BY THE CITY In Missouri, state crimes can be categorized as felonies or misdemeanors. Missouri law categorizes many more crimes as felonies than other states. There are five categories of felonies that range from Felony A to E and may include a sentence of at least one year. There are five categories of misdemeanors (Misdemeanor A through D and unclassified) and individuals can be sentenced with up to one year in jail and/or fines.40 16 THE PEOPLE IN NUMBERS: WHY PEOPLE REMAIN INCARCERATED PRETRIAL & BAIL PRACTICES IN ST. LOUIS? Over 95% of people at the Workhouse have not been convicted of any crime and remain incarcerated only because they are too poor to pay for their freedom. The median bond at the Workhouse is a staggering and unaffordable $25,000 due to the unconstitutional bail setting practices in St. Louis. A very small number of individuals at the Workhouse are released on their own promise to return. They are instead incarcerated without any justification and at great cost to their communities and taxpayers. Bond practices in St. Louis are falling far behind the progress being made in other large cities. For exa mple, only a very sma ll number of people in St. Louis a re relea sed ba sed on their own promise to a ppea r in court —a policy successfully ca rried out in other cities a cross the country. The va st ma jority (96%) must pay for their relea se from ja il. This is compa red to only 15% in Wa shington, D.C., 40% in New York City, a nd 60% in Phila delphia . Graphs Depicting Comparative Rates of Release St. Louis New York City Philadelphia Washington, D.C. 15.0% 39.8% 40.0% 60.0% 60.2% 96.0% Bail Set Released Only on Promise to Appear Not only are the vast majority of people in St. Louis custody incarcerated on bond, but bond amounts are much higher in St. Louis. 85.0% Average Bond Set Total Felony For exa mple, the a vera ge bond a mount is $35,000 Misdemeanor ($17,000 for misdemea nors a nd $37,000 for felonies). This is compared to average bond amounts under $10,000 in New York City41 and much lower amounts in St. Louis $0.00 $0.00 $10,000.00 $10,000.00 $20,000.00 $30,000.00 $20,000.00 $30,000.00 County. The discrepancies are more clear when comparing Graph depicting the average bond amount for specific bond amounts for charges between St. Louis City individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse (based on and St. Louis County. In the city, the average bond amount March 2018 data on file at ArchCity Defenders) for the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm is unofficially automatically set at $30,000 compared to in the WHAT IS A BOND? county where it is set at an average of $8,417.42 After an individual is arrested, a judge has However, cash bond is not the only way to condition release. Other the ability to choose whether to release courts and other states use other types of “conditions” of release. These them on promise that they will appear at their next court date or, alternatively, to include “signature bonds” where an individual may be released based set an amount of money (called bond OR on a promise under oath to appear, “property bonds”, or through loans bail used interchangeably in St. Louis) that from bail bond companies who then pay a portion of the bond in someone must pay in order to be released exchange for the person’s release. while their case advances. If they cannot post their bond, they remain incarcerated. 17 THE DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT OF THE WORKHOUSE & CYCLES OF INCARCERATION ON BLACK AND POOR COMMUNITIES The Workhouse disproportionately impacts poor and Black communities in St. Louis adding to and mirroring the various forms of systemic oppression that people from these communities already face. “The prison therefore functions ideologically as an abstract site into which undesirables are deposited, relieving us of the responsibility of thinking about the real issues afflicting those communities from which prisoners are drawn in such disproportionate numbers.” Angela Y. Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? The conditions of incarceration at the Workhouse unequally impact the citizens of St. Louis. As the data presented in “The People: In Numbers” demonstrates, Black and poor residents make up a disproportionate number of those incarcerated in the Workhouse. The class and racial disparities present in the Workhouse do not exist in isolation. Those communities disproportionately impacted by the Workhouse are also those targeted and impacted by other forms of structural inequality in St. Louis. The Workhouse is just one piece in of a larger system of oppression faced by poor Black communities in St. Louis. Poverty Poverty Level Level 9% Whites Whites 31% African Americans Americans Image illustrating the disparity between Black and White poverty in St. Louis City and County: Percent living below the poverty line. (Graph from the For the Sake of All report). The Workhouse impacts Black people disadvantaged by historic and continued marginalization and segregation. communities. At the same time, many white families, and their tax dollars, moved from the city into segregated suburbs. Due to this “white flight”, businesses and banks continued to divest from Black communities. Historic and current government policies and practices impact St. Louis today, leaving the city segregated by class and race. Running East and West, Delmar Boulevard was previously one of the “red-lines” that systematically separated Black and white communities during the Jim Crow era.43 St. Louis communities remained geographically segregated by race and black neighborhoods continued to struggle with lower home values, less wealth, a smaller tax base, and the resulting wide-ranging oppression.44 For example, Black communities in North St. Louis face higher rates of poverty, lower educational outcomes, fewer employment opportunities, poorer health, and higher rates of incarceration.45 These historical patterns are exacerbated by government policies that continue to under-invest in Black community development; instead, offering only policing and incarceration as solutions. Several other prominent government policies ensured that white communities built wealth, while denying access to Black communities. For example, until the late 1960s, the Federal Housing Administration refused to provide government backed mortgages in Black neighborhoods. Because home ownership is the primary way that families build wealth, this policy contributed to a large and long-standing wealth gap between Black and white 18 Black communities in the Workhouse are also more likely to face systemic adversity in other facets of their lives, including: criminals and law enforcement efforts in poor Black communities have been incentivized. The police targeting of Black people continues today, especially in St. Louis, and these efforts result in the disproportionate incarceration of Black residents.48 ż Individuals who are homeless are also targeted by the police and the criminal legal system, through policies that criminalize panhandling, loitering, and unlawful assembly. ż Individuals living with mental illness are overly represented in the Workhouse. Untrained Workhouse guards are often left to act as de facto mental healthcare providers.49 Additionally, the conditions at the Workhouse can be so traumatic that they give rise to serious mental illness. Health: Inadequate investments lead to poor neighborhood conditions and a deficiency of resources that elsewhere promote good health in segregated regions. This leads to many fast food restaurants, few or no quality grocery stores, and adverse health outcomes for individuals living in segregated poor and Black communities.46 Education: A lack of school funding and quality teaching staff leads to racialized disparities in educational performance and attainment in segregated poor and Black communities.47 Policing and Incarceration: Since slavery, Black people have been branded as Incarceration, Unemployment, Education, and Arrest Statistics in St. Louis City and St. Louis County broken down by Race. County St. Louis County St. Louis City Total Black Population 23.2% 46.7% Total White Population 68.5% 43.5% INCARCERATED POPULATION Total Numbers: 2293 (County) 1300 (City) Black 1264 (54%) 956 (74%) White 1029 (44%) 336 (26%) UNEMPLOYMENT STATUS For the POPULATION 16 and Over Average: 9% (County) 14% (City) Black 18% 26% White 6% 6% MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME Black $35,757 $21,931 White $65,500 $49,192 HIGHEST LEVEL of EDUCATION ACHIEVED by those 25 and over Black 46% High School or less; 54% College or more White 27% High School or less; 73% College or more STOPS, SEARCHES, ARRESTS by ST. LOUIS POLICE Black 38% of Stops 44% of Searches 46% of Arrests 64% of Stops 73% of Searches 73% of Arrests White 60% of Stops 54% of Searches 52% of Arrests 33% of Stops 26% of Searches 26% of Arrests 19 ------ -WHY THE WORKHOUSE MUST CLOSE--- ---- It is clear to those directly impacted by the Workhouse why it must close and why it cannot be remedied with a new jail. The abhorrent jail conditions, the high public cost of operating the facility, and its role in the unconstitutional and inhumane practice of pretrial incarceration because detainees are too poor to afford their freedom are three distinguishing reasons why the Workhouse must close. 1. The Workhouse must close due to INHUMANE & UNCONSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse describe consistent stories of abusive and unconstitutional conditions, dangerous temperatures, inadequate medical care, little to no mental health and drug addiction treatment, and abuse by guards. These conditions are well documented in the ACLU of Eastern Missouri’s 2009 report “Suffering in Silence”,50 and ArchCity Defenders’ 2017 civil rights lawsuit.51 The conditions in the Workhouse make it an inhumane facility that violates the constitutional and human rights of people incarcerated and it must be closed. Unsanitary and Dangerous Conditions “During “Duringmy mytime time[in [inthe theWorkhouse], Workhouse], there there was wasmold moldininthe theshowers. showers. TheThe food food The complaints outlining physical conditions at the Workhouse are consistent and vast. Detainees report was was unbearable. unbearable.I wouldn’t I wouldn’t feed feed it toit to toilets, sinks, and showers that overflow, leak, or do not work altogether.52 They report bed bugs, rats, and rodents in the cells, an animal. animal.There Therewere wereroaches roaches and and rats. rats. dorms, and kitchen,53 as well as mold in the food and on the The The staff staffwere werevery veryunprofessional. unprofessional. They They walls.54 Detainees often cite the deterioration of the physical building detailing experiences of being rained on because of the would in the wouldpurposely purposelyput putenemies enemies in the lack of window coverings, insects entering the building through 55 openings, and ceilings caving in. same living could seesee same livingfacility facilitysosothey they could entertainment entertainment ofofGladiators.” Gladiators.” The building conditions along with the lack of sanitation in the Workhouse cause detainees to experience a number of health –– Carl CarlHill Hill issues. For example, mats and beds are not regularly sanitized, and vomit and fecal matter are found on surfaces where inmates are housed.56 Additionally, detainees are often denied access to bathing and regular hygiene procedures and products, including showering, clean uniforms, and towels.57 Coupled with poor air circulation, the conditions at the Workhouse produce a threatening air quality that has caused general breathing problems, asthma attacks and seizures among detainees.58 These conditions have also led to widespread staph infections that remain an ongoing problem.59 The conditions of the building are non-compliant with St. Louis City Building Code, which states that buildings are not up to code if they are “unsafe, unsanitary or deficient because of inadequate...facilities, inadequate light and ventilation… or are otherwise dangerous to human life or the public welfare…”60 The Workhouse violates all of the conditions of this code and the code requires that non-compliant buildings be taken down, removed, or made safe. 20 Excessive Temperatures The temperatures inside the Workhouse reach dangerous extremes. People are confined to dormitories with brick walls and concrete floors year-round without regular temperature control.61 Some Workhouse dormitories have old, boarded-up windows preventing proper ventilation.62 Last summer alone temperatures climbed to 130 inside the building.63 People detained at the Workhouse have suffered health complications from the dangerously high temperatures inside including dehydration, heat exhaustion, asthma attacks, and heat rashes.64 One detainee described sweating through five shirts in one day from the heat.65 assaulted a detainee at the Workhouse. The assault was in retaliation for a prior incident involving the detainee.69 In one case documented by the ACLU, a corrections officer entered the cell of a 130-pound, 16-year-old detainee, stomped him, punched him, and kicked him in the face.70 In another incident officers punched, kicked, and beat detainees with billy clubs.71 People detained at the Workhouse often complain of needless deployment of mace by corrections officers. One individual declares, “They spray mace and laugh about it. It seems as if it’s designed to create chaos in the dorms.”72 Detainees also complain of unnecessary use of force, especially mass punishment for the actions of one individual. “I’ve noticed that officers will often treat an inmate badly based on the behavior of some other inmates. Often we will get collectively punished because one inmate misbehaved.”73 Detainees also report extreme cold in the winter, heaters in the dormitories that are never turned on, and inadequate blankets. One individual reports, “We were provided two thin sheets and one blanket in the wintertime, and it was never sufficient to keep us warm. Men would walk around the dorms in the daytime wearing their blankets because it was so cold.”66 Inadequate or Nonexistent Medical Care Sick and injured detainees at the Workhouse receive slow and inadequate medical care. In 2015, a local CBS affiliate, KMOV, reported that one detainee struck his head in the shower and attempted to obtain medical treatment but was not given adequate medical care.74 Ultimately, he lost his hearing completely.75 Similarly, individuals with chronic conditions are often denied the correct medication or denied medication entirely. One detainee with sickle cell anemia reported, “I was in so much pain...I thought I was going to die. When I finally saw the nurse...I explained to her that I get regular blood transfusions, and that my doctor gives me folic acid and serious medications to control my pain. She ignored me and I was given Tylenol two hours later."76 Care is non-existent for individuals requiring drug addiction treatment despite the fact that so many individuals at the Workhouse are awaiting trial for drug-related charges.77 Many also report being in treatment prior to their arrest and losing access to this treatment due to their pretrial incarceration.78 Abusive and Rampant Use of Solitary Confinement The Workhouse forces individuals into solitary confinement without a hearing. Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse report that solitary confinement is used for a set of situations that range from serious medical and mental health conditions, disciplinary segregation, punishment for breaking a code of conduct, or retaliation for speaking out. Approximately 196 people out of 1200 in St. Louis’s custody are incarcerated in administrative segregation.67 Individuals in solitary confinement (also known as “the hole” or “administrative segregation”) are often only allowed out of their cells a few hours a week and restricted from accessing recreation facilities phone calls to their families and attorneys. In the summer of 2018, incarcerated individuals have reported that everyone incarcerated at the Workhouse spends their first few days in “the hole.”68 Abuse and Assault by Jail Guards Correctional officers frequently assault and abuse Workhouse detainees. In 2015, the City of St. Louis fired seven officers after they 21 No Mental Healthcare There is no mental healthcare available to individuals incarcerated at the jail. The City has a contract with Corizon Health, Inc., to provide behavioral and mental healthcare services to people detained in St. Louis city jails—but people have to request treatment, and their requests for medication or access to a psychiatrist can be, and are often denied.79 Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse testify to being denied their prescribed mental health medications. This flat rate payment system to Corizon ($3.7 million per year) incentivizes Corizon to cut corners with the care provided because Corizon keeps whatever they don’t spend.80 The contract puts the health interests of incarcerated people directly in conflict with the economic interests of the company contracted by the City to care for them.81 As a result, the Workhouse guards haved used solitary confinement to restrain individuals exhibiting serious mental health symptoms. Incarcerated people living with mental health conditions are at an increased risk of becoming victims of physical abuse, sexual assault, and suicide.82 They are also likely to remain incarcerated for longer periods of time than individuals who do not experience mental illness.83 Inadequate mental health care can also be life-threatening. Over the course of nine months in 2000, seven people being held at the Workhouse committed suicide by hanging themselves in their cells.84 According to the Riverfront Times, guards were untrained in CPR and lacked the tools necessary to cut the sheets used for hanging.85 No Grievance Process to Address Conditions It is very difficult for incarcerated individuals to file grievances or otherwise complain about their treatment at the jail. Although locked complaint boxes exist to file grievances, detainees continue to describe having to give their complaints to the same jail guards who abused them, and then facing retaliation by being placed on lockdown or in solitary confinement.86 One individual reports, “I filed a complaint and when the guard received it, the guard called the Lieutenant and said I had threatened him.”87 Detainees also describe how complaints almost always go unanswered. On detainee reports, “It is a waste of time to talk or file a grievance. I have never received an answer for any complaint.”88 Complaints about conditions from Workhouse employees also go unanswered or are cause for retaliation. This year, a former Captain filed a lawsuit against St. Louis City and his superiors, claiming he was fired for complaining about conditions and encouraging those incarcerated to file grievances. The only witness to testify against the former Captain in a pre-termination hearing was St. Louis Corrections Commissioner, Dale Glass.89 22 2. The Workhouse must close due to THE PUBLIC COST OF OPERATING THE JAIL The City of St. Louis spends $16 million every year to operate the Workhouse. It costs $16,300 to incarcerate By closing the Workhouse, St. Louis has an opportunity to create a permanent shift in the one person per year.90 way we think about public safety by reallocating investments into new solutions. Investing in the people of St. Louis, instead of policing and incarceration, will lift up individuals and communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system—and create a safer, more just St. Louis. St. Louis Spends the Majority of Its Budget on a Failed Arrest-and-Incarcerate Approach to Public Safety In recent years, the City of St. Louis has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on programs that fall under the category of “public safety.” In 2019, the City will devote $290 million, over half of its general fund, to public safety. In contrast, the City of St. Louis will spend less than $1.6 million on human services. That means St. Louis will spend 187 times more on public safety than what the Department of Human Services receives to provide the City with “social service programs to the aged, homeless, veterans, disabled, youth, and families in need.” This pie chart represents the city’s general fund in 2019. This tiny white sliver represents everything the city is going to spend on human services in 2019 – less than $1.6 million, or about 0.03% of the general fund. 70% of the money allocated for public safety is currently used for policing and incarceration. In 2019, the St. Louis City police, their retirement fund, and the city’s jails will receive almost $208 million—over 70% of the $290 million earmarked for public safety. As of August 2018, residents in St. Louis voted to approve a $50 million bond that provides additional money to this same arrest-and-incarcerate approach. The Board of Aldermen are able to re-allocate any funds earmarked for police or jails because it is General Fund money. We must reinvest in a new vision of public safety. Research shows that the arrest-and-incarcerate model does not make us safer (see page 27):91 ● ● National increases in incarceration correspond with a roughly 0% decrease in crime. Increased law enforcement efforts have only resulted in the targeting of poor and Black communities for non-serious criminal violations without creating additional protection for communities.92 Instead of spending money on police and jails, we can use the $16 million to fund programs that build stronger communities and expand opportunities for all residents in St. Louis. This funding could be re-allocated through the annual budget process and could fund (see pages 28 through 30): Affordable housing More equitable city programs, like equitable public transportation, affordable and accessible child care and expanded reentry wrap-around services. Community-based mental healthcare Economic and educational opportunities Retraining for current Workhouse employees into alternative City employment. Neighborhood based community spaces open to all. 23 3. The Workhouse must close due to UNCONSTITUTIONAL PRETRIAL BAIL PRACTICES Over 95% of the people incarcerated at the Workhouse are there pretrial, which means they have not been convicted of a crime. St. Louis incarcerates many more people pretrial than the national average.93 There are many problems with the practice of keeping people incarcerated pretrial and cash bail in St. Louis: The process for setting bail is unconstitutional. Cash bail discriminates against the poor by keeping them in jail because they cannot afford to buy their freedom. Pretrial incarceration affects outcomes at trial and sentencing, in addition to consequences related to the loss of liberty including loss of income, separation from children, and loss of housing. St. Louis over-incarcerates pretrial detainees when compared to the state and national average In St. Louis, only 4% of people are released without bail, compared to 85% in Washington D.C., 60% in New York City, and 40% in Philadelphia. On average, individuals incarcerated in St. Louis face approximately 291 days in detention.94 This is the second longest period of pretrial detention in the state, with the state average at 191.95 St. Louis County’s average of 254 days.96 Long periods of pretrial detention stem from the incredibly high bail amounts set in St. Louis that prevent individuals from being able to afford their pretrial freedom. The median bail for an individual incarcerated pretrial at the Workhouse is $25,000, compared to an median bond amount of $10,000 for felony cases across the country.97 “Some “Somepeople peopleatatthe theWorkhouse Workhouse hadhad There are significant consequences to pretrial incarceration Individuals who are incarcerated pretrial, even if only for a few days, face many consequences that are similar to individuals sentenced to jail or prison time. Pretrial detention impacts an individual’s life far beyond their loss of liberty. 24 $500 $500 bonds bondsbut butstill stillcouldn’t couldn’t make make it. it. That That makes makessense sense– –that’s that’srent!” rent!” –– Jasmine Jasmine Borden Borden Consequences of pretria l inca rcera tion include: Loss of income and wages because missing just one day of work can even result in someone losing their job; Loss of housing and missed payments on bills because individuals cannot work or pay bills while incarcerated; Restricted access to counsel because it is much more difficult to communicate with a lawyer from jail and nearly impossible to gather evidence; Loss of physical and/or legal custody of children; An increase of mental illness symptoms because conditions in jail can put an individual under a lot of stress and restrict access to needed medications, exacerbating or even causing mental illness;98 Increased risk of sexual assault with rampant assault in St. Louis jails, especially in the first few days of incarceration;99 Disparate results in criminal cases as individuals who remain incarcerated pretrial have a 13% increased chance of being found guilty, have a 21% increased chance they will plead guilty, are 4 times more likely to be sentenced to jail, and have 3 times longer jail sentences (an average of 4.6 months longer) than those free while waiting for their trial; and/or100 Increased recidivism, or committing a future crime, as individuals incarcerated for any amount of time have much higher rates of committing crimes in the future. The process and practice of keeping individuals incarcerated pretrial violates the U.S. Constitution The process for setting bail in St. Louis: When someone is arrested in St. Louis, a City of St. Louis Bond Commissioner will recommend a bond amount they have to pay to be released from jail. This amount is based purely on the police’s reason for the individual’s arrest, as well as the individual’s past criminal record. It does not take into consideration an individual’s ties to the community, other evidence related to whether they are a public safety risk or whether the individual can afford the bond. Individuals who are incarcerated in St. Louis do not have a hearing where they can challenge their bond amount until they have an attorney who requests a hearing. Since most individuals who are arrested cannot afford a private attorney, if they cannot pay their bond they must wait in jail until the public defender decides whether to take their case, enters his or her appearance, and begins the representation, a process that usually takes four to six weeks.101 25 Bail setting practices as a violation of the U.S. Constitution and Missouri law: Under the U.S. Constitution, individuals have a right to pretrial liberty. This right means that a prosecutor should be required to argue that it is necessary for someone to remain incarcerated while awaiting trial because they are at risk to public safety or a flight risk. Instead, individuals in St. Louis must argue why they deserve to be released. This practice is unconstitutional. It is supposed to be the prosecutor’s burden to argue a reason for pretrial detention. Additionally, where bail is set so high that individuals cannot afford it, the prosecutor and judge are effectively imposing mandatory incarceration, which requires a much higher standard and specific due process requirements that must be met when imposed.102 Under Missouri State Law and the State Constitution, a person should only be incarcerated pretrial when a court believes an individual will not attend court or that they are a risk to public safety.103 In fact, the Missouri Supreme Court demands that financial resources of the defendant be taken into account when setting the conditions of their release.104 There are many proven alternatives to pretrial incarceration that ensure public safety and that individuals return to court, including reminders for court, and transportation and childcare while in court. 26 ------ FROM ARREST-AND-INCARCERATE TO ------ ------------ COMMUNITY WELL-BEING------------- St. Louis’s current approach to public safety - arresting and incarcerating target communities - has failed. This section explains St. Louis’s current approach, why it is not working, and why it would be more effective to fund local programs that further a holistic notion of community well-being instead of policing and incarceration. ST. LOUIS’S CURRENT APPROACH TO “PUBLIC SAFETY” IS NOT WORKING St. Louis City Police gather in riot gear downtown in response to protests the day Jason Stockley was acquitted for the murder of Anthony Lamar Smith. St. Louis's current approach to “public safety” consists of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fund an expansive and militarized police department and operate two jails. In 2019, the City plans to devote $290 million, over half of its general fund, to “public safety,” with 70% of that funding being used to pay for police and jails. The cost of the City’s current approach is especially problematic because it is ineffective in its goal of decreasing violent crime in communities. Since 2000, national increases in incarceration have corresponded with a roughly 0% decrease in crime. This means that almost 100% of crime reduction occurring after 2000 can be attributed to factors other than incarceration.105 In fact, increases in incarceration can instead increase crime rates. Researchers say that this 27 phenomenon can be attributed to the withering of economic and social ties that occurs when many individuals in a community become incarcerated. Similarly, incarcerated individuals lose social and economic capital (their skills, connections, and resources), which makes it very difficult to re-enter society upon release and can make them more likely to commit a crime.106 Local policing approaches like broken windows policing and “hot spot policing” are ineffective at addressing violent crime. These policies have led to the over-policing of already marginalized communities without also increasing safety.107 Statistics reveal drastic disparities in interactions with the police by race, likely resulting from implicit biases and stereotypes of “criminality”. For example, Black people in St. Louis are 85% more likely to be searched by the police even though they are 20% less likely than their white counterparts to be found carrying contraband.108 These practices do more to support existing racial and socioeconomic hierarchies than they do to promote the safety of the St. Louis community Considering the history and design of policing in the St. Louis and in the U. S., we affirm the importance of grounding approaches to public safety outside of policing and jails and focused on preventative solutions that address the root causes of community instability and crime. INVESTING IN COMMUNITY WELL-BEING: A NEW VISION. The City of St. Louis needs to rethink its conception of public safety away from an arrest-and-incarcerate model and into programs that promote community well-being for the sake of increasing safety in St. Louis. Funding for these programs could easily be redirected as it all comes from the City’s General Fund. In 2019, the City of St. Louis plans to spend less than $1.6 million providing residents with human services. Compare this to the over $200 million the City has set aside to fund arresting and incarcerating people. A new integrated approach to public safety will require the promotion of community well-being and increased investment in both individuals and communities. This approach would require the City to prioritize alternatives to incarceration like substance-use treatment programs, expanded education and employment opportunities, improved access to health and mental health services, and increased affordable, stable housing options—especially for marginalized communities. This approach would allow St. Louis to begin to address the underlying issues that cause crime, like economic insecurity and addiction, while limiting the consequences of incarceration. We will also work with the city to develop community-based approaches to reducing violence at the community level, through approaches like what Critical Resistance ‘s Power Project is developing in Oakland, California. Passing the annual budget requires the input of everycity department and the approval of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (comprised of the Mayor, Comptroller, and President of the Board of Aldermen) and the Board of Critical Resistance’s Power Project Aldermen. The Board and the Mayor are accountable to (Oakland, California) their constituents and can be influenced to change their The Power Project engages with and builds the approach to public safety and what programs get funded. Many alternative approaches have been tried and successfully tested around the country and found to increase public safety through the promotion of community well-being instead of a reliance on arrests and incarceration. capacity of city residents to reduce community violence without relying on law enforcement. This is done by identifying current harms, amplifying existing resources, and developing new practices that do not rely on policing or law enforcement. FUND THIS INSTEAD: AFFORDABLE HOUSING Investing in stable housing will help St. Louis disrupt the City’s cycle of incarceration. Nationally, people without stable housing are more likely to become involved in the criminal legal system than their stably housed counterparts: 26% of people in jail report that they were homeless in the year prior to incarceration.109 Moreover, stable housing is one of the most important factors for successful reentry after incarceration. Unfortunately, current policy makes it more difficult for people with a history with the criminal legal system to find stable housing, as formerly incarcerated individuals can face subsidized housing restrictions, landlord 28 discrimination, or home loan restrictions. In addition, many existing supportive housing models, which offer housing and social services for homeless individuals, require people to submit to various kinds of treatment and graduate through a series of programs. Even if the client wants to comply, it is nearly impossible to do so without a stable place to live. Investing in affordable, supportive housing would minimize many people’s involvement with the criminal legal system.110 For example, St. Louis could divert current arrest-and-incarceration funding towards the St. Louis Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In 2001, Ord. 65132 § 2, 2000 established St. Louis’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund,111 providing $26 million in grants over 2 years for groups working on low-income housing issues. In 2002, the Board of Aldermen voted to cut the funding by half.112 The City failed to enforce standards and funded projects repeatedly failed safety and accessibility inspections.113 The Board should properly fund and implement the Housing Trust Fund and could also create housing by converting the more than 7,100 abandoned structures.114 FUND THIS INSTEAD: COMMUNITY-BASED MENTAL HEALTHCARE PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: Office of Neighborhood Safety (Richmond, California) In Richmond, California, the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) is a non-law enforcement agency that used trauma and developmental based approaches to reduce gun violence. ONS is tasked with building partnerships with those most at risk of being injured or killed by gun violence. Using developmental and trauma based approaches, the ONS’ work has led to a 71% reduction in gun violence resulting in death or injury since 2007 and 100% of the fellows in their program are still alive. People who experience mental illness are more likely to end up incarcerated than they are to receive medical care that will help them live safely.115 The right to health, both physical and mental, has been articulated in a number of international agreements, including the Constitution of the World Health Organization and the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, not all communities have access to the care necessary to protect that right because of lacking affordable mental healthcare in St. Louis.116 Instead of being community based and freely accessible to all, city-funded mental healthcare programs like the Women’s Circle Program and the Transition Center of St. Louis are run through the Circuit Attorney’s office where treatment is accompanied by the consequences of arrest, a criminal record, and the threat of incarceration.117 FUND THIS INSTEAD: NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED COMMUNITY SPACES THAT ARE OPEN TO ALL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: Center for Women In Transition The Center for Women In Transition provides reentry support for individuals leaving jails and prisons. They provide individualized case-management and after care programs to help individuals move into independent housing, receive subsidized mental healthcare and substance-use treatment, and provide mentorship. Last year, 85% of their participants obtained employment and 77% have maintained employment for over 3 months. The recidivism rate of participants in the program is half the statewide average. See more information at www.cwitstl.org Public spaces play an important role in bringing community members together and building stronger and safer neighborhoods. Reimagining public safety in St. Louis should include the development of free and accessible neighborhood-based community spaces in currently underserved areas. Participatory design is key to the successful development of community spaces: Residents’ sense of security in their own neighborhoods would be greatly improved by community-led and city-supported development of public parks, gardens, and community centers. Community spaces should have active programming, such as after school programs, job training, and community-wide events. To ensure the success of such spaces, it is important that community members are allowed and encouraged to take an active leadership role in managing and deciding the design and use of community spaces. 29 FUND THIS INSTEAD: ECONOMIC AND FUNDED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Instead of jailing people for poverty-related crimes, St. Louis City must invest in economic and funded educational opportunities for communities traditionally locked out of accessing these institutions of mobility, most notably, Black and poor communities. Black communities continue to experience much higher rates of unemployment.118 Unemployed individuals have higher rates of incarceration and involvement with the criminal legal system.119 In addition, being incarcerated can reduce a person’s future earnings by 40% and seriously impact their children’s educational and economic potential.120 Black communities also experience lower educational outcomes.121 This stems from the social, health, and economic challenges that students in underperforming schools face due largely to the funding models for education that rely on strong tax bases to support schools that are lacking in many Black-majority, low-income districts.122 St. Louis can change these outcomes. When people are stably employed and can meet their families’ basic needs they are less likely to engage in certain types of criminal activity.123 Moreover, when people can access employment opportunities, they are more likely to be able to afford child support or other legally-mandated payments and can avoid being jailed for unpaid fines.124 For exa mple, the City could fund job training, summer youth jobs, improving public education opportunities, raising the minimum wage, and offering after-school programs. The City should also work to make fines proportionate to income and limit the consequences of unpaid fines, especially when lack of payment is due to an inability to pay. .FUND THIS INSTEAD: RE-TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR FORMER WORKHOUSE EMPLOYEES Individuals currently employed by the City of St. Louis at the Workhouse are working in inhumane conditions for little pay.125 When the Workhouse closes, the City of St. Louis must commit to the continued employment of current city employees and provide paid training so individuals may transition to other City jobs. St. Louis must a lso confront the dispa rity inherent in the segrega ted na ture of the City a nd the resulting inequities in a ccessing importa nt progra ms. To remedy this, the City could commit to: Expanding access to public transportation: Access to transportation is crucial to escaping poverty, but Missouri ranks 46th among the 50 states in public transportation funding.126 In St. Louis City, areas of high job opportunities remain inaccessible to low income residents living outside the city center via Metrolink. This is compounded by the fact that many poor residents do not have a car127 or cannot drive due to license issues. Additionally, access to public transportation is unequal as stops for the Metrolink and buses are more frequent in higher-income areas.128 Accessible reentry programs and the Investing in affordable child care: promotion of pre-entry programming: Reentry programs are a crucial part of breaking the cycle of recidivism. The programs help people formerly incarcerated confront what can be insurmountable barriers—finding employment, securing stable housing, reuniting with their families, and maintaining the necessary contact with their probation or parole officers.129 Unfortunately, many reentry programs are limited in scope and restricted to people charged or convicted of specific crimes. St. Louis could also take the lessons learned from successful reentry programs and apply them “pre-entry” before individuals have to spend time incarcerated. 30 Access to affordable child care allows parents to find and maintain employment. However, in Missouri, child care is hard to find and costs an average of $1,101 per month.130 This is exorbitant considering someone making minimum wage makes only $1,250 per month. Low-income families in St. Louis need access to safe, reliable, and affordable child care. Moreover, creating affordable child care options will create new job opportunities and have a positive, long-term impact on the learning abilities of St. Louis children.131 ----- -THE PLAN TO CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE ----- Individuals incarcerated at the Workhouse (98% awaiting trial and the vast majority Black and poor) face hellish and unjustified conditions and incarceration. The Workhouse represents one facet of a broader system of criminalization and marginalization in St. Louis. This section of the report outlines a clear plan to change a part of this system. A permanent closure of the Workhouse requires action by the Mayor, the Circuit Attorney, a nd the Boa rd of Aldermen. There are clear steps that each can take: RELEASE INDIVIDUALS INCARCERATED PRETRIAL CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE DECLINE TO PROSECUTE AND CRIMINALIZE INDIVIDUALS REINVEST IN COMMUNITIES WHO CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE? WHO St. Louis Mayor LYDA KREWSON St. Louis Circuit Attorney KIM GARDNER St. Louis BOARD OF ALDERMEN HOW Lyda Krewson has the authority as the Mayor of St. Louis to direct the immediate closure of the Workhouse. We are calling on her to do so immediately in collaboration with Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards. The Mayor should also outline a new approach to public safety away from arrest-and-incarcerate models and shift City programmatic and budgetary priorities. Kim Gardner has the discretion and authority to choose which charges and cases are prosecuted. She should refuse to prosecute offenses that should be decriminalized, such as crimes of poverty or drug possession. She should expand pre-plea diversion programs to limit the consequences of the criminal legal system. She should also commit to a default of pretrial release and choose the least restrictive conditions of release possible, taking ability to pay into account. The Board of Aldermen can refuse to fund the Workhouse, effectively closing it. The Board has the authority to implement a new approach to public safety by reallocating general funds away from arrest-and-incarcerate programs and towards a set of community well-being programs including affordable housing and mental healthcare, and increased economic and educational opportunities. The Board should assure all current employees of the Workhouse alternative City employment and funded training to make this possible. 31 HOW ST. LOUIS’S MAYOR LYDA KREWSON CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE As the Mayor of St. Louis, and the City’s Chief Executive Officer, Lyda Krewson has an obligation to define new priorities for the City of St. Louis, drawing from this plan and starting by immediately directing the closure of the Workhouse. FIRST: KREWSON SHOULD IMMEDIATELY ORDER THE CLOSURE OF THE WORKHOUSE. Historically, mayors have played an important role in closing city jails. Earlier this year, the mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, along with the prison commissioner, closed one of the oldest jails in the city.132 As part of the plan to close the jail, Philadelphia officials committed to developing programs and policies to decrease the city’s incarcerated population so that the city would not need to build a new jail.133 “”What we have is a legacy of policies that disproportionately impact people along racial and economic lines. This is not an opinion, this is supported by stacks of numbers. This is institutional racism… we hold the opportunity to lead the way in making concrete changes to our laws and policies to change the status quo.„ 134 Lyda Krewson Mayor Krewson can direct Public Safety Director Jimmie Edwards and City Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass to permanently close the Workhouse and work with the Board of Aldermen on re-defining St. Louis’s vision of public safety.135 In the same way that the City has the authority to establish and maintain a city jail, it can also close jails—there is no state law that prevents the City from doing so.136 The Mayor has the power to direct those overseeing and maintaining the operation of the Workhouse.137 Mayor Krewson could alternatively introduce a Board Bill to close the Workhouse by requesting that the chairman of an Aldermanic committee sponsor such a bill—which could then become a city ordinance.138 32 SECOND: KREWSON MUST COLLABORATE WITH OTHER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENSURE CITY-WIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECARCERATION INITIATIVES AND A NEW APPROACH TO PUBLIC SAFETY. Jimmie Edwards, Director of Public Safety Mayor Krewson appointed Jimmie Edwards to be the Director of Public Safety, which means he oversees the Division of Corrections, including the operation of the Workhouse. Edwards plays a major role in Mayor Krewson’s administration and he should use his broad authority to advocate that resources be directed away from the Workhouse and toward community-informed programs, especially for underserved neighborhoods devastated by the City’s embrace of mass incarceration. He has stated, “good governance seeks out root causes for societal dysfunction, shows compassion when warranted, and works to improve opportunities for future generations.”139 Together, Krewson and Edwards are responsible for coordinating the closure of the Workhouse and setting new priorities for the City of St. Louis. The Mayor must work with Director Edwards (as well as the employees’ union and the Civil Service Commission) to ensure that all City employees working at the Workhouse are transitioned to alternative City employment. The Mayor and Public Safety Director should direct the City Corrections Commissioner Dale Glass to transition current Workhouse employees into alternative employment with the City. This may require new training based on the alternative programs developed as a part of a new approach to public safety. Funding should be reallocated from the operations of the Workhouse to train former Workhouse employees for these new positions. Dale Glass, City Corrections Commissioner As the City decarcerates and sets a process for the closure of the Workhouse, the Mayor must work with Dale Glass to ensure humane and constitutional conditions at the Workhouse. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department The Mayor must work with the police department to reduce the number of arrests. The police department has the authority and discretion to issue ticket summonses rather than arrest individuals. In addition, the police department should focus on alternatives to the criminal legal system to address violence in communities, developing community policing models,140 while ultimately working towards a reduced reliance on police to address public safety needs. Bond Commissioner’s Office The Mayor must work to reform the City’s Bond Commissioner's Office. Currently, the Bond Commissioner engages with the state courts in unconstitutional practices of recommending bonds based solely on a person’s charges and criminal record. If the Bond Commissioner’s Office remains in operation, it must presume release and only call for the pretrial incarceration of individuals who are ultimately proven to be a public safety risk (see more on page 35). Instead, the Mayor should work with the Bond Commissioner’s Office to develop initiatives that facilitate attendance in court (for example, through text reminders, child care and transportation to and from court). 33 HOW ST. LOUIS’S CIRCUIT ATTORNEY KIM GARDNER CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE FIRST: KIM GARDNER CAN DISMISS AND DEPRIORITIZE THE PROSECUTION OF VICTIMLESS CRIMES, CRIMES OF POVERTY, AND OTHER LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES. “The Circuit Attorney has unequalled and broad discretion in the criminal prosecution process–from whether to pursue criminal charges, to offer a plea deal, or recommendation for bail or sentencing. Throughout the entire prosecution process, the Circuit Kim Gardner Attorney exercises significant discretion.” Kim Gardner is the lead prosecutor in the City of St. Louis and has the power to decline to prosecute certain offenses and to dismiss criminal charges. If Gardner declined to prosecute and dismissed low-level offenses, the Workhouse could immediately close. Incarcerating someone for a probation violation, a driving-related charge, low-level drug-related charges, crimes of poverty, and other victimless charges does not make our communities safer (see page 27). Rather, it results in a cycle of incarcerating poor people and communities of color. Racial profiling in policing means prosecutorial decisions target certain communities. Black people are 85% more likely to be stopped by police than white people although there are no statistics showing they are more likely to commit crimes. Nearly 90% of the people incarcerated at the Workhouse are Black while just under half of City residents are Black. Remember: The relea se or non-inca rcera tion of 450 people a t the Workhouse (by dismissing cha rges or refusing to prosecute certa in cha rges) could sufficiently deca rcera te St. Louis to immedia tely close the Workhouse (see pa ge 32 a nd endnote 136). The table below demonstrates different offenses that the Circuit Attorney could choose not to prosecute and how many people would be released based on their charges. With the following top charges, today around 460 people would not be criminalized if the Circuit Attorney dismissed the following low-level charges, and the Workhouse could immediately be closed. Numbers of People Incarcerated at the Workhouse on Low-Level O�enses * based on data on file at ArchCity Defenders from March 2018 and St. Louis jail population data Individuals charged with only a technical probation violation A “technical probation violation” is a violation of a condition of probation (like reporting to one’s officer) and does not include people violated for being charged with a new offense. Individuals with a top charge that is Driving-Related This includes driving with an invalid license and leaving the scene of an accident, but not DUIs. 107 6 Individuals with a top charge that is a low-level Drug-related charge 109 Individuals with a top charge that is a Poverty-Related charge 107 Other individuals with a top charge that is a Victimless charge 137 This includes the offenses of unlawful possession of a controlled substance including marijuana, or possession of drug paraphernalia. It does not include distribution of drugs. This includes the offenses of non-payment of child support, trespassing, stealing [but not stealing a car or a firearm], prostitution, damaging property, and receiving stolen property. This includes the offenses of unlawful possession of a gun, resisting arrest, perjury Total Individuals with a low-level top charge (who could be released) 466 Individuals with a more serious top charge (who would not be released) 166 34 SECOND: KIM GARDNER CAN DECREASE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED PRETRIAL BY SUPPORTING PEOPLE’S RELEASE ON PROMISES TO APPEAR AND OTHER NON-RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS. Although many major cities are reforming their bail practices and progressing towards justice and decarceration,141 St. Louis bail practices have been stagnant for years. Although most people at the Workhouse are not awaiting trial for serious charges (see chart on page 15), prosecutors and the City Bond Commissioner request bail for someone 96% of people have to pay bail to be to be released and only between 4% of released pretrial. The median bond for people in St. Louis are ever offered someone at the Workhouse is $25,000. release only on a promise to appear. The vast majority of people cannot afford to pay the bond and stay incarcerated. The bail that is ultimately set is unaffordable for the vast majority of The average length of stay for those people, thus keeping people incarcerated innocent and awaiting trial in a St. Louis until trial or until they plead. City jail in 291 days. If rates of pretrial release were similar to other cities, like Philadelphia,142 this would result in the immediate release of 40% of people in St. Louis’s custody, or around 500 people. This move alone would decarcerate sufficiently to close the Workhouse. Current bail practices in St. Louis are unconstitutional and violate Missouri law (see page 26).143 Pretrial incarceration also has serious consequences (see page 25). Studies show that those released pretrial have fewer guilty pleas, higher chances of dismissal and enrollment in diversion programs, and shorter sentences. Judges have the authority to order individuals released without conditions.144 The Circuit Attorney’s Office has the authority to request that an individual be released without bail and at the very least to consent to defendant's’ requests to be released on their own recognizance or to reduce their bond to an amount that is affordable. Instead, the Circuit Attorney’s office and their prosecutors actively oppose individuals’ release pretrial.145 It is a policy of the office for the prosecutor to argue to the judge that a defendant should remain locked up, and prosecutors contest every bond reduction motion. Released on Promise to Appear “CONDITIONING RELEASE”: PROVIDE PRETRIAL SERVICES NOT SURVEILLANCE Cash bail should not be replaced by private supervision programs, like those currently operated by the private company EMASS. “Private supervision” programs use private companies to supervise individuals while they await trial. In St. Louis, the individual must pay the costs of the private supervision. The cost can be as high as $300 per month, which is unaffordable for many. Those programs put unnecessary financial burdens on communities targeted by the criminal legal system and often result in reincarceration for inability to pay. 35 The Close the Workhouse campaign does not support Electronic Home Detention. St. Louis currently has a contract with a private company to provide Electronic Home Detention Programs that allow individuals to replacing cash bail with any serve either some or all of their pretrial detention at home. These companies have an type of invasive pretrial economic incentive to keep people in the most restrictive conditions for the longest surveillance. Instead, the City period of time. In St. Louis the cost per day of electronic monitoring is $5-$8 per day; should invest in services that that’s almost $3,000 for a year of monitoring. help people overcome barriers Private Pretrial Supervision. Although we support supervised release, we they face when appearing in do not support privatizing these conditioned release services. Many private pretrial court. These services include supervision services are user-funded, which can result in a cycle of excessive fees, text message reminders about debt, and poverty, even for those ultimately not found guilty of a crime. upcoming dates, as well as Predictive Risk Assessment Technology. Risk assessment tools are assistance with transportation, becoming increasingly popular across the country and they are used to decide who and childcare. In New York can be set free before trial. The Campaign does not support using risk assessment tools City, text message reminders because predictive analytics that use racially-skewed data and present their assessment of upcoming court dates results as “race-neutral” are dangerous and likely to perpetuate a harmful cycle of overincarcerating communities of color. reduced the number of people who miss their court date by In D.C., almost 20% in 2017.146 the court operates a Pretrial Services Corporation that is staffed 24/7 and 89% remain arrest-free.147 Other states connect individuals with pretrial treatment for drug and alcohol use disorders, or mental healthcare, and require mandatory court check-ins. THIRD: KIM GARDNER’S OFFICE CAN EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY AND USE OF PRE-PLEA DIVERSION WHEN SHE DECIDES THERE IS A NEED TO PROSECUTE A CHARGE. Diversion programs are designed to avoid a criminal conviction and record, but also to provide opportunities and programs to prevent individuals from being swept up into the criminal legal system’s cycle. Successful pre-plea diversion programs successfully connect individuals with important social service supports to reduce the collateral impacts that often occur after encounters with the criminal legal system. Pre-plea diversion should not replace solutions that decrease the total number of prosecutions. For example, in 2015 individuals spent approximately 90,000 days incarcerated before their charges were ultimately dismissed. The prosecutor can always choose not to prosecute a charge and should make that decision before beginning to prosecute, not through dismissals or increased use of pre-plea diversion. but they are very limited with only 150 participants in Kim Gardner’s office has four diversion programs,148 over one year out of a total number of over 3000 filed prosecutions.149 All diversion programs must be expanded with an emphasis on pre-plea diversion. FOURTH: K IM GARDNER CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE TO ST. LOUIS BY RELEASING INFORMATION ON THE CHARGING DECISIONS AND POLICIES MADE BY HER OFFICE. “As your next Circuit Attorney, my office will operate through transparency to enhance community trust, a critical ingredient to make our city safer.” Kim Gardner Transparency means the Circuit Attorney should: Release information on charges prosecuted, cases dismissed, and bail amounts in St. Louis; Release information on policies to decrease the incarcerated population in St. Louis (including bail practices, use of prosecutorial discretion, and increased use of summonses over arrests); and Quantify the cost of incarceration throughout the prosecution and sentencing process. At a bail or sentencing hearing, when prosecutors are calling for incarceration, this should be declared on the record. 36 HOW THE ST. LOUIS BOARD OF ALDERMEN CAN CLOSE THE WORKHOUSE FIRST: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN CAN DIVEST FROM THE WORKHOUSE. The Board of Aldermen is charged with yearly approval of the City’s budget. This legislative “check” gives them the power to divest from the Workhouse. By refusing to fund the Workhouse, they can effectively close it. SECOND: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN CAN PASS A Who Are the Board of Alderman? The Board of Alderman is the legislative body of the City of St. Louis. The Board creates, passes, and amends local laws, as well as approves the City’s budget every year. There are 28 Alderman and each represent around 10,000 residents. Louis Reed, the President of the Board, is the second highest ranking city official directly behind Mayor Krewson. RESOLUTION COMMITTING TO CLOSING THE WORKHOUSE. In 1843, a City Ordinance was passed that established a Workhouse. Now, 175 years later, the Board could act again, this time to close the infamously hellish institution. As the legislative body of the City of St. Louis, the Board of Aldermen can pass a resolution endorsing the closure of the Workhouse. Board resolutions do not usually carry the force of law but would represent an important political step towards closing the Workhouse. THIRD: THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MUST RE-ALLOCATE THE GENERAL FUND TO INVEST IN COMMUNITY WELL-BEING FOR ALL IN THE ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY. The Board of Aldermen has final say on the budget for the City of St. Louis. Instead of spending $16 million operating a decaying city jail and detaining people before trial, the Board can create a budget that prioritizes the well-being of the City’s residents. See page 38 and Section Investing in Community Well-Being. This budget should be created through a participatory budgeting process that involves communities in deciding how money is spent and on what priorities.150 Reallocation of Funding Priorities: Areas for reallocation of funding include (See pages 28 to 30): ● Affordable housing projects ● Access to employment and education initiatives ● Creation of neighborhood-based and open community spaces ● Community mental healthcare Alternative employment and required employment training for City employees currently employed at the Workhouse. Local funding for the Public Defender’s Office so all individuals that require it can access free, quality, and timely counsel. The Board of Aldermen should reallocate funding from the recently passed $50 million bond away from permanent building renovations (like non-temporary air conditioning units). 37 Comparing City Budgets Ima gining city budgets before a nd a fter the closure of the Workhouse a nd a rea lloca tion of city funding towa rds a new a pproa ch to public sa fety St. Louis Budget – Now and Future Figure depicting the current 2018 City of St. Louis General Fund budget and a possible re-envisioning of the St. Louis budget. A precise reallocation of funding should occur through a participatory budgeting process involving communities impacted by the changes. 38 ----- A CALL TO ACTION---- Wha t You Ca n Do to Help Close the Workhouse a nd Deca rcera te St. Louis: Follow our campaign! ● ● ● ● ● Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @CloseWorkhouse Join our email list: closetheworkhouse@gmail.com Visit our website: www.closetheworkhouse.com Share our posts, events, and hashtags to spread the word Follow social media accounts of The Bail Project, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, Action St. Louis, ArchCity Defenders, and others Wield your political influence ● ● ● ● ● Call Mayor Lyda Krewson, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, and your Alderman to let them know that you support the campaign’s demands Engage local elected officials and candidates in conversations about where they stand on the campaign demands Demand transparency and accountability from your local police and jails Educate and mobilize your friends, family, and network Mobilize your network to attend campaign events and promote the campaign Organize your communities ● ● ● ● Organize and attend neighborhood meetings Host conversations with your friends and family about decarceration Engage your neighborhood in conversations about alternatives to calling the police Build alternative safety responses and structures in your community Support local organizations with decarceration initiatives ● ● ● Move your organization or network to endorse the campaign Join the campaign to help further campaign priorities Donate to the campaign and our partner organizations 39 - ----- Sources - --- 1. 2. Movement for Black Lives, “End the War on Black People,” available at, https://policy.m4bl.org/end-war-on-black-people/. 15. Id. 16. Tyler v. United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). Robert Patrick, Heat, mold, rats and spiders: Former workhouse inmates sue St. Louis over 'hellish' conditions, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Nov. 13, 2017), available at https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/heatmold-rats-and-spiders-former-workhouse-inmates-sue-st/art icle_5860d97a-59b8-5485-9548-e4086be1d624.html; Danny Wicentowski, “This Place is Hell”: An Undercover Trip Inside St. Louis’ Workhouse, Riverfront Times (Aug. 7, 2017), available at https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/08/07/thisplace-is-hell-an-undercover-trip-inside-st-louis-workhouse; Carolina Hidalgo, Activists launch campaign to close the Workhouse, reduce St. Louis jail population, St. Louis Public Radio (July 3, 2018), available at http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/activists-launch-campaig n-close-workhouse-reduce-st-louis-jail-population#stream/0. 17. Id. at 536. 18. Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974); Tyler v. United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). 19. “City of St. Louis - Justice Center,” KWAME Building Group Inc., available at http://kwamebuildinggroup.com/wp-content/uploads/201 7/10/city-of-st.-louis-justice-center.pdf. 20. Missouri Historical Society, available at http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:157869?full screen=1. 21. Cody et al., at 131. 22. In 2009 the ACLU released a report on conditions at St. Louis correctional facilities called “Suffering in Silence.” The report was the result of a two-year long investigation and based on accounts by correctional officers and people incarcerated at St. Louis City Jails documenting inhumane conditions. See, Redditt Hudson, Suffering in Silence: Human Rights Abuses in St. Louis Correctional Centers, American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri (March 2009), available at https://www.aclu-mo.org/sites/default/files/field_documen ts/aclusufferingfullreport.pdf. 23. Id. at 6. 24. Jesse Bogen, Seven St. Louis jailers fired in excessive force case, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (May 16, 2015), available at https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/se ven-st-louis-jailers-fired-in-excessive-force-case/article_6d 332d3d-9cd7-53a0-9c5e-9ebac4bc72d6.html. 25. Allen Beck, Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails . ꜰJ ꜱ , May 2013, Reported by Inmates, 2011-12, D available at https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/svpjri1112.pdf 26. Robert Patrick, “Suit claims St. Louis workhouse inmates forced by guards to fight,” August 18, 2012. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/su it-claims-st-louis-workhouse-inmates-forced-by-guards-to/ article_a8a6f0dc-1d0e-58f4-8c6e-b50fd7fc5b7d.html. 27. Id. 28. Deaths are recorded by the City in the Corrections Divisions’ monthly reports, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p ublic-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-20 18.cfm. 29. Doyle Murphy, St. Louis Workhouse Inmates Beg for Help from Blistering Heat, Riverfront Times (July 19, 2017)https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2017/ 07/19/st-louis-workhouse-inmates-beg-for-help-from-bli stering-heat. 30. First Am. Complaint, Cody et al. v. City of St. Louis, No. 4:17-cv-2707-AGF (E.D. Mo. filed Jun. 4, 2018). 3. St. Louis City Workhouse Ordinance, 1843, available at https://books.google.com/books?id=Vf1BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4 78&lpg=PA478&dq=workhouse+st+louis+name&source=bl& ots=2csRwzFuxw&sig=bOT36iPgI_fojGo3x5H_X24AEmg&hl= en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSutfjxqPVAhVHrFQKHQk1B504FB DoAQggMAk#v=onepage&q=workhouse%20st%20louis%20 name&f=false. 4. Historical Photos for Courts and Jail, St. Louis Police Veterans Association, available at http://www.slpva.com/historic/saintlouifourcourts.html. 5. Harper Barnes, City's New $2,000,000 Workhouse Expected to be Completed, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 7, 1966. 6. Lauren Mitchell, ed., 10 Reasons the gilded age wasn’t so gilded, Missouri Historical Society, June 19, 2015, available a http://mohistory.org/blog/10-reasons-the-gilded-age-wasnt-s o-gilded/. 7. A Friend of Prisoners (Anonymous author), Putting St. Louisans into Chains, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 16, 1905. 8. “Photos,” Missouri Historical Society, available at http://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:157869?fullsc reen=1. 9. Medium Security Institution: Information regarding the City’s Medium Security Institution, City of St. Louis Government, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi c-safety/corrections/medium-security-institution.cfm. 10. Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974); Tyler v. United States, 737 F. Supp. 531 (E.D. Mo. 1990). 11. Cody et al. v. City of St. Louis, No. 4:17-cv-2707 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 13, 2017). 12. See supra note 4. 13. Colin Gordon, Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City, http://mappingdecline.lib.uiowa.edu/map/ (last visited Sept. 12, 2018). 14. Tyler v. Percich, No. 74-40-C (E.D. Mo. Oct. 15, 1974). 40 31. Id. 32. See the Campaign website for more information at: http://www.closetheworkhouse.org. 33. afety/corrections/documents/upload/july-2018-reporting-of-sta tistics.pdf Data for this graph was drawn from St. Louis City monthly reports. See, Commissioner Dale Glass, Monthly Report ꜰ S . January 2018 through Monthly Report July 2018, C ꜱ, L https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi c-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-2018.cfm 50. Hudson, “Suffering in Silence.” 51. Cody et al. 52. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 53. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 54. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 34. Id. 55. Cody et al. at 35. 35. Id. 56. Id. at 137. 36. Thomas Harvey et al., ArchCity Defenders: Municipal Courts White Paper (Nov. 2014) at pp. 17-19, available at http://www.archcitydefenders.org/wp-content/uploads/2014 /11/ArchCity-Defenders-Municipal-Courts-Whitepaper.pdf. 57. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 58. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 59. ACLU p. 14-15 (Tyler v. Perich, 14-15.) 37. Id. at 8-10. 60. St. Louis Revised Statutes Chapter 25.02, Section 116.1 38. 98% of people at the workhouse are incarcerated pretrial. See Corrections Division, “Monthly Reports”, City of St. Louis, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/publi c-safety/corrections/documents/monthly-reports-2018.cfm. 61. Cody, et al.,. at 142. 62. Id. at 143. 39. 40. The Circuit Attorney announced an “exclusion list” based on the lack of “viability of [some police] reports.” (See Christine Byers, “St. Louis prosecutor says she will no longer accept cases from 28 city police officers,” August 31, 2018, “Complete Guide to Felonies in Missouri,” Carver, Cantin and Mynarich, LLC, 2017, https://carvercantin.com/felonies-in-missouri/; “Missouri Misdemeanor Guide - Class A, B, C, D Unclassified,” Carver, Cantin and Mynarich, LLC, 2017, https://carvercantin.com/missouri-misdemeanor/ 41. Independent Commission chaired by The Hon. Jonathan Lippman, “A More Just New York City: Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform,” March 2017, https://www.ncsc.org/~/media/C056A0513F0C4D34B779E875 CBD2472B.ashx. 42. J ꜱ M ꜱꜱ St. Louis County Jail Statistics, S (2018), https://www.pickyourpa.org/jail-statistics/. 63. Id. at 15. 64. Id. at 150. 65. Id. 66. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 67. Corrections Division, “July 2018 Report”, City of St. Louis, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p ublic-safety/corrections/documents/upload/JUNE-2018-R EPORTING-OF-STATISTICS.pdf. 68. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 69. Elizabeth Eisele, “Seven corrections officers fired after allegedly beating inmate in retaliation,” KMOV.com, May 15, 2015, available at http://www.kmov.com/story/29079672/seven-correctio ns-officers-fired-after-allegedly-beating-inmate-in-reta liation; ACLU, “Suffering in Silence,” at 6; ACLU, Tyler v. Perch, at 6. 70. ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 6. 71. ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 11. 72. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 73. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 74. ACLU, “Suffering in Silence” at 13. 75. Id. 43. Colin Gordon, Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City 86 (2009). 44. Infographic of Delmar Divide. See, Jason Purnell et al., For the Sake of All, Washington University in St. Louis (July 2015), available at https://forthesakeofall.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FSOA_r eport_2.pdf. 45. Id., 29. 76. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 46. Id., 32. 77. Cody et al.. 47. Lyndsie Marie Schultz, Inequitable Dispersion: Mapping the Distribution of Highly Qualified Teachers in St. Louis Metropolitan Elementary Schools, Education Police Archives, 22 (2014) at 12. See also Purnell et al., supra note 44. 78. Id. 79. Bruce Rushton, “Unlucky Seven,” November 7, 2001, available at https://www.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/unlucky-seve n/Content?oid=2470082 . 80. “City of St. Louis - FY 2018 - 2019,” City of St. Louis, April 23, 2018, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/ budget/documents/upload/FY19-Line-Item-Public-Safe 48. 49. Stop Search and Hit Image from https://prezi.com/view/KG3Y8inXLjc6hV9Iup6v/ ; Incarceration image from For the Sake of All Report. Public Safety Commissioner Dale Glass, “Department of Public Safety St. Louis City Division of Correction: Monthly Report,” https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-s 41 ty-to-BOA.pdf 81. 82. “When you combine the profit motive with limited oversight and an unpopular, politically powerless group like prisoners, it's a recipe for bad outcomes.” ACLU director of National Prison Project David Fathi. Corizon has been sued 660 times between 2011 and 2016 for malpractice. See, Simon McCormack, “Xavius Scullark-Johnson, Prisoner, Dies After He's Denied Health Care.” The Huffington Post, 26 June 2012, https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/xavius-scullark-johnso n-dead_n_1625547. Doris A. Fuller, Elizabeth Sinclair, et al., “Emptying the ‘New ASylums,’” Treatment Advocacy Center, January 2017, available at, http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/document s/emptying-new-asylums.pdf 83. “Jailing People with Mental Illness,” National Alliance on Mental Illness, available at https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Public-Policy/Jailing-Peo ple-with-Mental-Illness 84. Jesse Bogen, “Seven St. Louis jailers fired in excessive force case,” May 16, 2015. https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/seve n-st-louis-jailers-fired-in-excessive-force-case/article_6d332d 3d-9cd7-53a0-9c5e-9ebac4bc72d6.html. Id. 86. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 87. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 88. On file at ArchCity Defenders, 2018. 89. Sarah Fenske, “Captain Was Fired After Complaining About Workhouse Conditions, Lawsuit Says,” Riverfront Times, Sept 4, 2018, availalbe at https://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2018/09/04/captain -was-fired-after-complaining-about-workhouse-conditions-law suit-says. 90. Abhi Sivasailam, “Cost of a Missouri Inmate,” Show-Me Institute, January 20, 2011, https://showmeinstitute.org/blog/budget/cost-missouri-inmate 91. Don Steman, “The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration will not make us Safer,” Loyola eCommons, July 2017, https://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&co ntext=criminaljustice_facpubs. 92. Judy Greene, Marc Mauer, Ashley Nellis, “Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System. A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers,” The Sentencing Project, 2008, https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/0 1/Reducing-Racial-Disparity-in-the-Criminal-Justice-System-AManual-for-Practitioners-and-Policymakers.pdf. 94. Christian Henrichson, “The Incarceration Trends Project,” Vera Institute of Justice, December, 15, 2015, http://trends.vera.org/rates/st-louis-city-mo?incarceration=rate &incarcerationData=pretrial Andy Barbee, Grace Call, Rachael Druckhammer, and Ben Shelor, “Justice Reinvestment in Missouri,” Justice Center, November 28, 2017, available at https://csgjusticecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/MO-JR -Pres-Nov-28-2017_FINAL_Updated.pdf 95. Id. at 18. 96. Id. The most recent analysis from the U.S. Department of Justice found that in the U.S., the median bail amount set for felony cases in 2009 was $10,000. See, Scott M. Stringer, “The Public Cost of Private Bail: A Proposal to Ban Bail Bonds in NYC,” Bureau of Policy and Research and Bureau of Budget, January 2018, available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/docume nts/The_Public_Cost_of_Private_Bail.pdf. 98. Lorna Collier, “Incarceration Nation,” American Psychological Association, October, 2014, http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/10/incarceration.aspx 99. Hudson, “Suffering in Silence: Human Rights Abuses in St. Louis Correctional Centers,” pg. 9, 12, 20, 21, 27. 100. Megan Stevenson, "Distortion of justice: How the inability to pay bail affects case outcomes," University of Pennsylvania Law School, 2017. 85. 93. 97. 101. Editorial Board, “Low funding and large caseloads put Missouri’s public defenders at shar disadvantage,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, March 4, 2018, https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-l ow-funding-and-large-caseloads-put-missouri-s-public /article_3242c902-36a6-5cb6-994f-dd5a919b31bc.html. 102. Freedom from imprisonment has been recognized as a fundamental right protected by the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678, 690 (2001); Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1, 5 (1951). Government policies that interfere with fundamental rights receive strict scrutiny. Reno v. Flores, 507 U.S. 292, 302 (1993). To pass strict scrutiny, the government must prove that it has a compelling interest in the goal at which the policy is aimed and that the policy is narrowly tailored to meet that goal. Id. In issuing cash bail, the government has a compelling interest in both public safety and ensuring the arrestee appears in court. United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 749 (1987). However, without individualized bail determinations, there is no way to prove that the individual presents a risk to public safety or a risk of not appearing in court. In addition, and especially where bail is set so high that it can be considered as an imposition of mandatory incarceration, the government must prove that this is the least restrictive means for ensuring that government interest. Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 672 (1983). For the vast majority of individuals incarcerated pretrial in St. Louis, clear alternatives exist to cash bail that still allow the government to ensure public safety and court appearance. 103. See Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.01(d). 104. “In determining which conditions of release will reasonably assure appearance, the court shall, take into account . . . the accused's . . . financial resources.” Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.01(e). 105. Don Stemen. The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration Will Not Make Us Safer. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2017. 106. Id. 107. Ethical Society of Police, “Comprehensive Evaluation of the SLMPD,” July 2016, https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/stlto day.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/6b/26b1b d68-9647-5601-b037-fa97d6eb9e80/577ed5200647e.pdf 42 .pdf. 108. Jail. Lose Job. Repeat,” New York Times, April 19, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/us/skip-child-support-g o-to-jail-lose-job-repeat.html John Chasnoff, “Transforming Police Culture,” April 2018, available at: https://prezi.com/view/KG3Y8inXLjc6hV9Iup6v/. 109. “Advancing Vulnerable Population,” CSH, 2018, https://www.csh.org/csh-solutions/advancing-vulnerable-po pulations/. 110. “Housing and Homelessness as a Public Health issue,”American Public Health Association, November 7, 2017,https://www.apha.org/policies-and-advocacy/public-healt h-policy-statements/policy-database/2018/01/18/housing-and-h omelessness-as-a-public-health-issue. 124. Id. 125. City employees working at the Workhouse make between $33,700 and $47,500. See, “Salary,” City of St. Louis Government, available at https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/p ersonnel/jobs/job-detail.cfm?job=2154&detail=1. 126. Dera Luce, “The Fight for Better Transit is Part of the FIght for Racial Equity,” City Lab, October 13, 2017, https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/10/mobilizing-forprotests-without-a-car/542373/ and Mikayla Bouchard. “Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty,” New York Times, May 7, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/upshot/transporta tion-emerges-as-crucial-to-escaping-poverty. 127. “Segregation in St. Louis: Dismantling the Divide,” For The Sake of All, April, 2018, 72, available at https://forthesakeofall.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ SegregationinSTL_DismantlingDivideReport.pdf. 128. “Forward through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity,” Forward through Ferguson, October 14, 2015, https://forwardthroughferguson.org/report/call-to-actio n/enhancing-access-to-transportation/. 111. St. Louis Ordinance 65609 § 2, 2002, available at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/internal-apps/legislative/upload/O rdinances/BOAPdf/65609x00.pdf. 112. St. Louis Ordinance 65609 § 2, 2002. 113. Caitlin Lee and Clark Randall, “For Landlord Nathan Cooper, Section-8 Tenants are Big Business,” Riverfront Times, June 27, 2018, available at https://m.riverfronttimes.com/stlouis/nathan-cooper-section-8gravois-park/Content?oid=20676900&storyPage=4. 114. Woodhall-Melnik, J. R., & Dunn, J. R. (2016). A systematic review of outcomes associated with participation in Housing First programs. Housing Studies, 31(3), 287-304. 115. “Jailing People with Mental Illness,” National Alliance on Mental Illness, https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Public-Policy/Jailing-People -with-Mental-Illness. 129. Richard Seiter and Karen Kadela, “Prisoner Reentry: What Works, What Does Not, and What is Promising,” Sage Publications, 2003, http://64.6.252.14/class/Temp/reentry11.pdf, 56. 116. Jim Doyle, “Mental health safety net in St. Louis is strained,” Dec. 23, 2012, https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/mental-health-safety-netin-st-louis-area-is-strained/article_56c215f2-716d-5c29-a2db-a9 f81520736b.html. 130. 117. Office of Neighbourhood Safety: See, “2016 Highlight: Officer of Neighborhood Safety,” City of Richmond, California, 2017, https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/41749/2 016-FINAL-DRAFT-ANNUAL-SUMMARY?bidId= 118. Angle Ross, “Chart of the Week: Mapping Unemployment in St. Louis,” National Equity Atlas, October 7, 2016, http://nationalequityatlas.org/data-in-action/StLouisUnemploy ment. “These Maps Show the Average Cost of Childcare in Each State,” Huffington Post, April 23, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/these-maps-sho w-the-average-cost-of-childcare-in-each_us_5ada5ac6e4 b08013892cf610; Gina Adams, Teresa Derrick-Mills, and Caroline Heller, “Strategies to Meet the Childcare Needs of Low-Income Parents Seeking Education and Training,” Urban Institute, September 2016, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/84 326/2000938-Strategies-to-Meet-the-Child-Care-Needs-of -Low-Income-Parents-Seeking-Education-and-Training. pdf. 131. “The State of America’s Children 2017,” Children’s Defense Fund, 2017, http://www.childrensdefense.org/library/data/child-car e-assistance-policies-low-income-afford-quality-care-ch ildren.pdf. 119. Ben Schiller, “Mass Incarceration is The Enemy of Economic Opportunity,” Fast Company, January 30, 2017, https://www.fastcompany.com/3064950/mass-incarceration-isthe-enemy-of-economic-opportunity 132. 120. “Collateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility,” The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2010, http://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_as sets/2010/collateralcosts1pdf.pdf. Joe Trinacia, “Mayor Kenney: Philly’s Oldest Prison to Close by 2020,” Philadelphia. April 18, 2018, https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/04/18/philadelp hia-house-correction-closure/. 133. 121. Janie Boschma, Ronald Brownstein, “The Concentration of Poverty in American Schools,” Feb. 29, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/conce ntration-poverty-american-schools/471414/. Robert Smith, “Philadelphia’s Oldest Jail, the House of Correction, to Close by 2020,” NBC 10. April 18, 2018, https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/House-of-C orrection-Philadelphia-incarceration-prison-closure-202 0-480149263.html. 122. Dan Carson, Laura Isensee, Reema Khrais, Tim Lloyd, Alexandra Olgin, Becky Vevea, “Why America’s Shcools Have a Money Problem,” April 18, 2016, https://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474256366/why-americas-sch ools-have-a-money-problem. 134. Lyda Krewson, “St. Louis holds an opportunity to lead the way: My thoughts on the last few days,” St. Louis-MO GOV, September 19, 2017, https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/m ayor/news/mayor-responds-to-last-few-days.cfm. 123. Frances Robles and Shaila Dewan, “Skip Child Support. Go to 43 135. David Hunn, “Dale Glass named new St. Louis corrections commissioner,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 31, 2012,fhttps://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/dale-glass-n amed-new-st-louis-corrections-commissioner/article_92f74286ab2d-11e1-a773-0019bb30f31a.html. 136. This campaign uses the required decarceration number 450 based on capacity of St. Louis’s City Justice Center. The City Justice Center (CJC) has a capacity of 860 individuals. There are currently 690 incarcerated in CJC, and 550 incarcerated at the Workhouse. Jails normally cannot be filled to capacity so we leave around 10% of free bedspace. This leaves around 100 free beds at CJC that could be filled by individuals that do not fit in any immediate decarceration priorities while releasing individuals from the Workhouse. This would leave 450 individuals that would have to be released from St. Louis’ custody in order to immediately close the Workhouse and not require a new jail to incarcerate individuals under the authority of St. Louis’s custody. Note that the number would be even lower if St. Louis refused to hold federal inmates at CJC (around 150 federal custody inmates are held at CJC). See https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/public-s afety/corrections/documents/upload/JULY-2018-REPORTING-O F-STATISTICS.pdf 137. “Departments Reporting to the Mayor,” St. Louis-MO GOV,https://library.municode.com/mo/st._louis/codes/code_of_ ordinances?nodeId=CH_ARTVIIICIOFEM_S1APBEMAMATE 142. In Philadelphia, the District Attorney has eliminated cash bail for 25 non-violent offenses. Also see, Alicia Victoria Lozano, “Philadelphia Distrct Attorney Larry Krasner Ends Cash Bail for Low-Level Offenses,”NBC 10, February 21, 2018, https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/The-End -of-Cash-Bail-in-Philadelphia-District-Attorney-to-Issue -Policy-Change-474728233.html. 143. See Page 30 of the Plan; also see R.S.Mo. § 544.455 stating that that a judge may release an individual on their own personal recognizance. St. Louis law allows for release on personal recognizance. 144. Mo. Sup. Ct. R. 33.05: “A person for whom conditions of release are imposed and who after twenty-four hours from the time of the release hearing continues to be detained as a result of his inability to meet the conditions of release shall, upon application, be entitled to have the conditions reviewed by the court which imposed them. The application shall be determined promptly.” 145. It is unclear whether the policy is a written one or is a norm ordered by Circuit Attorney Gardner. This policy was also under effect under Circuit Attorney Joyce’s leadership. 146. Erin Durkin, “Text message remiders help curb number of defendents who skip NYC court,” Daily News, Jan. 23, 2018, http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/text-messagereminders-curb-number-defendants-skip-court-article -1.3774378. 138. “About Board Bills,” St. Louis-MO GOV, https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/board-bills/ ordinances-how.cfm. 139. “Mayor Lyda Krewson Appoints Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards New Director of Public Safety,” St. Louis-MO GOV. October 13, 2017,dhttps://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/m ayor/news/circuit-judge-jimmie-m-edwards-new-director-of-p ublic-safety.cfm. 147. Director Clifford T. Keenan, “It’s about Results, Not Money,” Pretrial Service Agency for the District of Columbia, September 4, 2014 https://www.psa.gov/?q=node/499. 140. See “Community Policing,” Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression, March 28, 2018, http://capcr-stl.org/community-policing/ 148. 141. See Teresa Wiltz, “Locked Up: Is cash Bail on the Way Out,” PEW Research, March 1, 2017,. http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/st ateline/2017/03/01/locked-up-is-cash-bail-on-the-way-out; in Philly: Claire Sasko, DA Krasner Will Drop Cash Bail for Most Non-Violent Crime, Philadelphia, February 21, 2018, https://www.phillymag.com/news/2018/02/21/krasner-cash-b ail-reform/. In Manhattan: Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, “Manhattan and Broklyn District Attorney’s Officez End Requests Bail Most Misdemeanor Cases,” January 9, 2018, https://www.manhattanda.org/manhattan-and-brooklyn-dis trict-attorneys-offices-end-requests-bail-most-misdemeanor/ .; In Florida: Elizabeth Johnson, “Florida Campaign for Crmiinal Justice Reform Responds to Ninth Judicial Circuit Bail Reform Announcement,” ACLU Florida, May 16, 2018, https://www.aclufl.org/en/press-releases/florida-campaign-c riminal-justice-reform-responds-ninth-judicial-circuit-bail-r eform; https://twitter.com/SAAramisAyala/status/996856236153999 365; in D.C., the court operates a Pretrial Services Corporation that is staffed 24/7 and 89% remain arrest-free.# to immediately speak with anyone arrested and two individuals who can vouch for them and ultimately 88% of individuals are released pretrial on their own recognizance and 89% remain arrest-free. https://www.psa.gov/?q=node/499 Director Clifford T. Keenan, september 4, 2014. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office has four diversion programs: Misdemeanor Redirect Program; Pre-plea Felony Redirect Program; Post-plea felony program; Youthful offender program. The CAO Misdemeanor Redirect Program (M.R.P.) is a diversion program for defendants charged with Misdemeanor crimes with little or no criminal history that provides an opportunity to accept responsibility for their actions, seek rehabilitation, and divert their cases from traditional criminal prosecution. The Felony Redirect Program (FRP) is a Post-Plea/Deferred Sentencing diversion program designed to allow non-violent felony offenders with little or no criminal history to accept responsibility for their actions and enter an intensive course of supervision with programs such as behavior modification, education, job skills training and employment, and community service designed to redirect the offender out of the criminal justice system and into a more positive and productive position in the community). 149. “Circuit Court, FY 2017, Criminal Cases Filed, Disposed and Pending,” Office of States Courts Administrator, 2017, available at https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=122358 150. For more information on participatory budgeting, See, ”What is Participatory Budgeting,” Participatory Budgeting Project, 2018, https://www.participatorybudgeting.org/what-is-pb/ 44