Download the Compiled Jail Fight Toolkit

We have compiled resources from fights against Jail Expansion from across the state. Download the entire toolkit here, or view each of its chapters and parts below.

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Download the Compiled Jail Fight Toolkit

What’s all inside?

If you’re wondering whether your county really needs more jail cells – or if you’re already determined that it doesn’t, we have put together some resources to help you and your neighbors sort through what some of the key issues are, what the policy alternatives to jail expansion are and what you can do to move your county away from a disastrous jail expansion project.

Section 1 - Start Here

Short and simple guides and fact-sheets from Community Alternatives to Jail Expansion (CAJE)

A How-To Guide to Organizing against Jail Expansion (4 pg) Rising Detention and Growth of Local Jails (2 pg) Cost Effective Solutions to Jail Overcrowding (3pg)
Section 1 - Start Here

Section 2 - Organizing Basics

A chapter on organizing the opposition, from California Prison Moritorium Project (CPMP)’s document How to Stop a Prison in Your Town

Organizing the Opposition (16 pg) View CPMP’s entire document (70 pg)
Section 2 - Organizing Basics

Section 3 - Sample Tools

Examples of the fliers, press, and other tools from recent jail fights across CA.

Flier Front: 10 Razones Para Luchar Contra la Cárcel SMC Flier Back: 10 Alternativas a una Nueva Cárcel SMC Flier Front (English): 10 Reasons to fight the SMC jail Flier Back (English): 10 Alternatives to a New SMC jail San Francisco Jail Info Sheet Sample CURB Press Release Jail Tax Flyer How to De-Bunk Your Sheriff’s Justification for Jail Expansion Jail Construction Funding Fact Sheet No New Jails Fresno Fact Sheet (by Critical Resistance)
Section 3 - Sample Tools

Section 4 - More to Read

From Justice Policy Institute, Amanda Petteruti & Nastassia Walsh and Albert Samaha.

Bail Fail: Why the U.S. should end the practice of using money for bail. The Impact of Jail Expansion and Effective Public Safety Strategies Barred from Freedom: How Pretrial Detention Ruins Lives
Section 4 - More to Read

Section 5 - Other Resources

Take a deeper dive into the talking points against new jails and jail expansion with these articles and other resources. 

James Austin, Assessing and Managing Your Jail Population BJS, A Second Look at Alleviating Jail Crowding: A Systems Perspective CPMP, How to Stop a Prison in Your Town (in English or Spanish) Kevin Pyle & Craig Gilmore, Prison Town: Paying the Price Dana Kaplan/CAJE, Impacts of Jail Expansion in New York State: A Hidden Burden Magnus Lofstrom and Katherine Kramer/PPIC, Capacity Challenges in CA’s Jails Sarah Lyons and Nastassia Walsh/Justice Policy Institute, Money Well Spent: How Positive Social Investments Will Reduce Incarceration Rates, Improve Public Safety, and Promote the Well-Being of Communities Los Angeles Conservancy, Using CEQA to Protect Your Community Vera Institute, Making the Transition: Rethinking Jail Reentry in Los Angeles County: Fact Sheet Ana Yanez-Corera and Molly Trotman/TCJC, Costly Confinement & Sensible Solutions: Jail Overcrowding in Texas
Section 5 - Other Resources

Further Resources

What CA Could Do with $500 Million, instead of Build New Jails A Reflection on the No More Jails Campaign in Champaign County Listen: No More Jails Champaign County Talk 2.21.14
< All Tools and Resources

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