24 March 2015

Senior adviser to Mayor of New York City praises T2A programme for inspiring real change across the pond

News and events

On 2 March, Vinny Schiraldi, the Senior Advisor at the New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, delivered the keynote address at the T2A National Conference.

 

Mr Schiraldi praised the work of T2A as being instrumental in shaping thinking in New York, and elsewhere in the US, where radical new approaches to young adults involved in crime have been proposed. Mr Schiraldi said:

 

“T2A’s work has been an inspiration to others in informing policymakers here and increasingly in America about the need for improved, developmentally appropriate treatment of young adults who come into contact with the criminal justice system.  Personally, I’d just like to say that, as my thinking on this issue has evolved and gotten more refined, it’s no exaggeration to say that the single most important source of that evolution is the insightful publications on your web site and, more importantly, the notion that there is a group of thoughtful, caring people working hard to make better treatment for young adults in the criminal justice system a reality.”

 

Schiraldi told delegates about plans proposed by the Commissioners for Prison, Probation and Youth Services for a major overhaul across New York State in the way that young adults are managed, including new young adult specific custodial facilities, and a designated probation approach for 18-25 year olds (see here for more information).

 

View Vinny Schiraldi’s full speech below: