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New Jersey Community and Corrections Working Summit 2025

Twenty years ago, Black and Latino leaders and key criminal justice stakeholders launched the NJ Community & Corrections Working Summit, setting the stage for ongoing efforts to address and reform mass incarceration of people of color in New Jersey.

“We cannot just sit back anymore and continue to observe a system that is failing our community. A system that is hard to change, for political, social and economic reasons."

Guillermo Beytagh - Maldonado, Chairperson, Hispanic Directors Association of New Jersey

NJ Community & Corrections Working Summit 2003, Keynote Speech

Landscape of the Movement

Over the last twenty years after the first summit in 2003, New Jersey has achieved major criminal justice reforms, including Police Licensing, Mental Health Teams, Use of Force Directives, no-cost Public Defender services, Sentencing Reforms, Cannabis legalization, Bail Reform, and Isolated Confinement laws. COVID-19 legislation released nearly 5,000 individuals, and over 83,000 citizens regained voting rights. These reforms have reduced crime rates and showcase community action's impact.

Summit Goal

The 2025 NJ Community & Corrections Working Summit will unite advocates, state and community leaders, decision-makers, and incarcerated and justice-impacted voices to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system and create an action plan of reforms and transparency. Through this action, we will create a report detailing our plan for reforms over the next 2o years.