SB 36 Would Protect Children from Automatically Being Tried as Adults
Senate Bill (SB) 36, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield, would eliminate a provision in Kentucky law mandating that children charged...
Criminal Justice
Despite Continued Risks from COVID-19, Kentucky Jail Population Continues to Increase
Between March and May of 2020, the jail population in Kentucky fell by a third (24,183 to 16,167) as a result of releases aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19....
HB 126’s Reformed Felony Threshold Would Reduce Incarceration for Low-Level Theft
The House Judiciary committee is scheduled to hear a bill sponsored by Representative Ed Massey, House Bill (HB) 126, on Wednesday, February 3. HB 126 would increase the threshold at...
New Data Helps Pave the Way for Bail Reform in Kentucky
Legislators and advocates have been discussing bail reform for years, with general agreement that too many Kentuckians are incarcerated while awaiting trial, many because they cannot afford bail. Past bail...
Letter to Governor Beshear: Coalition Statement on COVID-19 Vaccine and Incarcerated Kentuckians
COVID-19 vaccine Doses On January 19, 2021, a coalition of Kentucky organizations and individuals submitted the following letter to Governor Beshear. Dear Governor Beshear, As COVID-19 spreads throughout the country...
Banning No-Knock Warrants Is an Important First Step in Addressing Police Violence Through Demilitarization
Since the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in March during a drug investigation, public officials, community organizations and advocates have called for bans of “no-knock” warrants, which have become...
Waiver to Provide Substance Use Disorder Treatment to Incarcerated People Shouldn’t Increase Incarceration
KyPolicy submitted the following comments on the 1115 Waiver Amendment – SUD Incarceration Services to the DMS Commissioner's office on November 6, 2020. You can read them in PDF form...
IDs Are a Necessity for Successful Reentry
When people who have been incarcerated are released from jail and prison, support services such as housing and mental health can help them get back on their feet and avoid...
Kentucky Must Continue Momentum Reducing Jail and Prison Population
As we enter the seventh month of the COVID-19 pandemic, jails and prisons have been among the top “hotspots” for COVID-19 at the same time incarcerated individuals are among the...
Kentucky’s Largest Cities Spend a Quarter of Their Budgets on Police
Amid growing attention to harmful overpolicing of Black communities, many are calling on cities to begin shifting public resources away from policing toward social services, mental health, affordable housing and...