Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY
Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.
Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.
Want to dig into the work for justice at the state, county or city level? Join a Working Group!
State level: Tanvier@ppgbuffalo.org
County level: Denise@voicebuffalo.org
City level: cparra@citizenactionny.org
Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY
Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.
Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.
Enough is enough. The people are mobilizing and need your support. We are in need of materials, bail money and anything else to protect us. To contribute to efforts towards the fight to defund the police please donate through cash.app: $FreeThePeopleWNY or Venmo: @FreeThePeopleWNY
Coalition members are primarily organizations and some individual organizers who are working on a campaign or providing services for those impacted by any aspect of the criminal justice system, and aligns with the coalition mission and principles. Others who align with our principles but don’t fall into one of these categories are welcome to work with the coalition in various capacities, but can’t be listed as official members.
Join us at one of our monthly meetings, on the first Thursday of every month at 3 pm. Contact us by emailing info@freethepeoplewny.com to receive the meeting info. If you are interested in becoming a coalition member, please fill out a membership form.
For too many years we’ve protested the deathly, inhumane conditions in the Holding Center. We’ve rallied and petitioned and called out Sheriff Howard over and over again and the deaths and neglect and sexual assaults have continued. This year we will elect a new Sheriff but we know that the violence of our County carceral system will remain in place until we hold all our County elected officials accountable for their complicity in funding, maintaining and filing our county jails. The Free the People WNY County Working Group has put together a policy platform calling on the new Sheriff, County Executive Mark Poloncarz, the Erie County Legislature and District Attorney John Flynn to act on five policy demands to decarcerate Erie County and invest in our communities.
For too many years, Erie County has received the disgraceful recognition of having two of the worst jail facilities in the state. A lack of basic medical care and overall neglect of human needs has led to 31 reported deaths since 2005, which does not account for the many overdose deaths that have happened upon release from the jails. Incarcerated people are human beings. The new sheriff must take concrete steps to:
Further reading: Prison Policy Initiative, “It’s all about the incentives: Why a call home from a jail in New York State can cost 7 times more than the same call from the state’s prisons”
Paul Ross, WKBW, “NY AG suing Erie County Sheriff for failing to address sex misconduct in correctional facilities”
Katal Center for Equity and Justice, “Addressing Addiction and Preventing Overdose in NY: Providing Medication- Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Jails and Prisons”
County leaders must recognize that the era of mass incarceration is beginning to end. Already both county jail facilities are more empty than they are full, and yet the staffing of both facilities remains the same. County lawmakers must reap the financial benefits of freedom dividends – the cost savings of decarceration – by reallocating Sheriff Department funds to community safety efforts to fund jobs, housing, and community-based mental health programs. Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and the Erie County Legislature must:
Further reading: Vera Institute of Justice, “The Cost of Incarceration in New York State: Erie County Factsheet”
The Jail Management Division has read the writing on the wall and knows that it is increasingly irrelevant as the number of jailed people in Erie County plummets. They have proposed a plan to keep both jail facilities open in order to save their jobs in the carceral system. County leaders must reject this plan and begin the work of completely closing at least one jail facility by the end of 2022. By the end of 2021 the County Legislature must:
Further reading: Partnership for the Public Good, “Shrinking Jails, Rising Costs: Erie County’s Wasteful Jail Budget”
County leaders must address ineffective, racially biased criminalizing policies by embracing evidence-based and community-driven solutions. We can not arrest our way out of the overdose crisis and other behavioral health needs. Incarceration, drug courts, and other coercion-based drug treatment is often ineffective, racially disparate, and many times harmful. Non-coercive, community-based harm reduction drug treatment models are often safer and more effective for people who use drugs. Alternative solutions can keep people out of jails and connect them to harm reduction and other health services.
The County Legislature and Sheriff’s Office must:
District Attorney John Flynn must:
Further reading: Drug Policy Alliance, “Substance Use Disorder Treatment,”
Fair and Just Prosecution, “21 Principles for the 21st Century Prosecutor”
Vera Institute of Justice & Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, Motion for Justice
Partnership for the Public Good, “Why Buffalo Needs LEAD”
All residents of Erie County are valued members of our community and must be treated with respect and dignity. The new Sheriff must commit to protecting the rights and safety of all residents equally, and should disavow racist and xenophobic actions that target immigrant community members. The new Sheriff must publicly commit to:
Further reading: Center for American Progress, Immigration Enforcement, The Negative Consequences of Entangling Local Policing and Immigration Enforcement
The county is proposing to move most prisoners to the Correctional Facility in Alden and use the Holding Center for other, mostly unknown purposes. The proposal is extremely vague, and no opportunity for public input has been offered. There are many things to consider about consolidating the jail population into either facility (Alden or the Holding Center). Should Erie County close one of the jails? Click the link below to fill out a survey and share your thoughts.
New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) |
On October 8th the Erie County Legislature passed a resolution supporting the HALT Solitary Confinement Bill. The resolution urged the legislature to pass the bill and the Governor to sign it. The vote was 9-1, with 2 Republicans voting for the resolution. Congratulations to Steve, Jerome, Daryl, Samantha and everyone else who worked on this resolution for the past 3 years! Let’s hope that this momentum will continue into the new year for the final passage of HALT, ending the torture of solitary once and for all.
The county is proposing to move most prisoners to the Correctional Facility in Alden and use the Holding Center for other, mostly unknown purposes. The proposal is extremely vague, and no opportunity for public input has been offered. There are many things to consider about consolidating the jail population into either facility (Alden or the Holding Center). Should Erie County close one of the jails? Click the link below to fill out a survey and share your thoughts.
New York Campaign for Alternatives to Isolated Confinement (CAIC) |
On October 8th the Erie County Legislature passed a resolution supporting the HALT Solitary Confinement Bill. The resolution urged the legislature to pass the bill and the Governor to sign it. The vote was 9-1, with 2 Republicans voting for the resolution. Congratulations to Steve, Jerome, Daryl, Samantha and everyone else who worked on this resolution for the past 3 years! Let’s hope that this momentum will continue into the new year for the final passage of HALT, ending the torture of solitary once and for all.
Free The People is a coalition of activists, organizers, and attorneys that envisions a world free from the violence and death of mass incarceration. We act together to dismantle oppressive laws that dehumanize people for a more fair and equitable society.