Balancing Punishment and Treatment: Alternatives to Incarceration in New York City

Abstract

Like other U.S. cities, New York is gradually increasing its use of alternatives to incarceration (ATIs) for people who have committed felonies. This is the first study to examine the city’s coordinated ATI system for people convicted of felonies—and one of the only studies nationally to examine the content of alternative sentencing programs as well as their long-term recidivism rates. Vera found that people sent to ATIs showed the same rate of re-offending up to three years later as those in a matched comparison group, despite spending much less time incarcerated during the study period.