State leaders today opened a new center aimed at reaching more people when they're released from prison as New Jersey positions itself to be a national leader in reducing its prison population newly released data Finds Its succeeding in part because of those strong re-entry programs that keep the formerly incarcerated from reoffending while giving them a second chance at life senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports we must understand that we have to change this system of incarceration I know what it is to be a incarcerated citizen nafisha Goldsmith served time at Edna Mahan at New Jersey's notorious prison for women or a federal probe found staff beat and abused inmates New Jersey's prison system still leads the nation in racial disparity but a new study by the ACLU reports some good news New Jersey's reduced its overall prison population by more than 50 percent since 2011 and now leads the nation in decarceration the ACLU credits bail reforms with the reforms came the immediate and dramatic reduction in the number of people incarcerated before trial thousands fewer people lost jobs health care and family connections research shows Jersey prisons held 19 600 inmates back in 2017 but as bail reforms kicked in that trended downward then plummeted dramatically from 2020 to 2022 leaving 12 500 Behind Bars this was done by passing a one-of-a-kind law to release nearly 9 000 people early during the covid-19 pandemic we also legalized and decriminalized cannabis significantly reducing arrests in our state and bail reform has been a resounding and stable success defying popular expectations the violent crime recidivism rate remain below one percent what New Jersey has proven is that you can in fact have both safety and Justice you can reduce the number of people behind bars and be safer and have more healthy thriving communities as a result there's a lot to be proud of in New Jersey but we haven't yet re HR potential statistics show 60 percent of Jersey's prison population remains overwhelmingly black and brown but people of color comprise only 15 percent of the population it highlights the racial disparities here and we need to work on the issues which are feeding the system creating This structurally Racist environment Advocates fear new tough on crime bills especially those with mandatory minimums could threaten the progress New Jersey has made by incarcerating more people for longer prison terms I don't believe in mandatory minimums but I do believe in mandatory Services getting people the services they need to rebuild their lives former Governor Jim McGreevy chairs the board at New Jersey re-entry Corporation and today help cut the ribbon on its 10th facility in Carteret it's a place where folks coming out of prison can get back on their feet with Career Training job placement addiction treatment legal counsel and health care they help veterans too I also wouldn't probably be alive today if it wasn't for the New Jersey re-entry program because they didn't even have medical insurance when I found out that I had cancer if you need help with finding a new career any type of driver's license finds anything that you need please go to re-entry because they can help Kaya Thompson now has a job as a phlebotomist supporters say this program gives people a second chance in Carteret I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News [Music]