Project Title: A Broken Justice System: Do Juveniles Carry the Brunt of it All?
BASIS Advisor: Polly Kertis
Internship Location: Red Hook Community Justice Center (RHCJC)
Onsite Mentor: Sabrina Carter
This is still being updated. Current version: Across continents, not only do you see youth being admitted senselessly to the system for minor infractions, but in its wake, there are issues between youth and police officers that are often left unaddressed. The goal of my project is to understand the juvenile justice systems globally and also attempt to better relations between communities and their local law enforcements. To achieve this goal, I will intern at the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn, NY. Both of these institutions have similar goals, which are to strengthen the community justice model and create a more humane system for people. To better the relationships of law enforcement with communities, I plan to hold a series of Bridging the Gap events in which communities are able to connect with law enforcement and ask them whatever they would like and allow both parties to understand the other’s side of the glass. Through this, I hope to allow communities to come together and form an alliance with police.
My Posts
The End
Welcome to my final blog post! I am very sad that my senior project is coming to an end, however, this was only the beginning of my studies for my future occupation. I had a lot of fun speaking to different people and interviewing them. They gave me new insight into the justice system as […]
Interview #3- Beauty and the Beast
Welcome Back! Last week I also had the privilege of conducting an interview with Dr. Delores Jones Brown. Dr. Brown is the Practitioner in Residence at the University of New Haven. Dr. Brown was able to help me see a different side of the way the young men were looked at in the case. Its […]
Interview #2 – Life as a teen in 1989
Hello everyone! I hope you’re remaining safe and healthy during this time. Last week, I had the opportunity to conduct a very fruitful interview with Amy Borrell Berner. Ms. Berner is the Director of Seller Happiness for the company Teachers Pay Teachers. Ms. Berner went to middle school and high school with Yusef Salaam who […]
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” -MLK
Welcome Back, Everyone! With the recent events, I have decided to steer this week’s focus away from my new senior project topic and back to my original topic. I conducted two interviews this week but I will post about them in later blogs. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Philando Castile. Sean Bell. These are just a […]
Week 7: My First Interview
Welcome Back, Everyone! This week I had the pleasure of starting my interviews. My first interviewee was Joshua Pacheco of the Red Hook Community Justice Center(RHCJC). Joshua Pacheco is the Youth and Community Programs Associate at the Justice Center. He has been in this position since he came out of college. Joshua, who does not […]
Week 5: Interview Prep
Welcome back, everyone! Happy National College Decision Day to my fellow seniors! Before I get into my blog, I must say how proud I am of my class. Basis is not an easy school but it prepares us to the best of its ability. We finally did it, from all the complaining about APs to […]
Week 4- Objectivity:When the Search for the Truth Goes Wrong?
Hello Everyone! This week again has been pretty slow for me. I am still awaiting the responses from the activists I hope to interview. In the meantime, I focused on the media impact of the Central Park 5 case. With a case like this, all media outlets had been racing against one another to bring […]
Week 3: Slow and Steady Wins the Race
Welcome back, everyone! This week has been super slow for me in terms of research. I spent the week researching several lawyers and activists. Once I narrowed it down to about 20 people, I reached out to all of them and I am currently awaiting their responses. All of these individuals range from lawyers that […]
Week 2: What Went Wrong?
Welcome back, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their time at home to some extent. To start my research into the Exonerated Five, I focused on what went wrong during the actual case that led to wrongful convictions. To do this, I watched a documentary by Ken Burns that focuses on the Central Park Five. […]
Week 1: Shifting Gears due to COVID-19
Welcome back! I hope everyone’s staying safe and healthy amid this pandemic. Due to COVID-19, I am changing the focus of my Senior Project. Originally, I was going to host bridging the gap events and travel to Australia to learn more about how they’ve implemented restorative justice. Now, I will be researching how the juvenile […]
An Introduction to Restorative Justice
Hello! My name is Kayla Forbes and I have been attending Basis Independent since the 7th grade. Over the last few years, I have been able to explore my many interests. One interest of mine has been the justice system. My goal is to become a lawyer and then hopefully a Supreme Court Justice when […]