Help NOT Handcuffs
How do we stop arresting people for poverty crimes?
An Arlington for Justice & NAACP Arlington Branch Diversion First Community Forum
Hybrid Event
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In Person at Lubber Run Community Center
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Virtual on Zoom
Homeless people in Arlington, Virginia, have interactions with the police resulting in being arrested for minor crimes, held in jail for several days and even risk dying in jail. Many of the underlying issues in these police interactions are a direct result of people’s unhoused status or symptoms of mental illness, substance use disorder, poverty and trauma. The last four people who died in the Arlington County Detention Facility were homeless living in extreme poverty. Three of the people were people of color who were arrested for the minor charge of trespassing when they had nowhere else to go, initially held in jail and continued to be held in jail for several days.
Join us to discuss how to divert people from the criminal legal system and jail, addressing the intercepts after arrest – initial detention, jail, court, re-entry and community support. We anticipate focusing on preventing prosecuting people for poverty crimes and holding them in the jail by discussing opportunities/barriers for community services instead of jailing or prosecuting in the future.
Moderator Rachel Collins
Community conversation with Commonwealth’s Attorney, Public Defender’s & Sheriff’s offices + OAR & DHS
Sponsored By
Arlington for Justice
NAACP Arlington Branch
Free and Open to the Public