We're back — and brighter than ever!

Greetings from “Go Bright” — the latest phase in PJI’s organizational transformation!

As you may recall, we announced earlier this year that PJI was “going dim” [link to “We’re hitting pause” announcement] so that our entire team could engage in deep reflection and strategic planning around our unique contribution to pretrial justice and racial equity.

While moving full speed ahead on our partner projects, we dedicated the rest of our time to developing our new theory of change and co-creating a new paradigm for how we want to work with each other, our partners, and our clients. During this process, we also engaged system actors, community organizers, change management experts, and directly impacted people to help us determine exactly where PJI fits in the movement to end mass incarceration.

For 45 years, the pretrial field has relied on PJI for innovative solutions. We look to the horizon and test cutting-edge approaches so that policymakers and practitioners have new options for solving entrenched problems. In 2022, many changemakers are demanding equity-driven reform—and having to choose between money-based and surveillance-based approaches doesn’t cut it. Our communities deserve more.

So what are we offering? A model we call Local Antiracist Pretrial Justice (LAPJ) [link to “What We Do” page], where PJI partners with community coalitions and public officials as they design and implement a smaller system of correctional control and an expanded system of social support during the pretrial process. This work is already beginning in many localities, and we want to help build on that momentum.

Our team is thrilled with the direction we’re headed — and we promise to share more about LAPJ soon. In the interim, here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect from us in the near future:

• A virtual event series [link to Events] inspired by What If: 10 Questions for Sparking Local Pretrial Change. [Link to What If publication]

• A new PJI Help Desk [link to Help Desk], where you can ask us technical questions, request resources, or pick our brains about anything related to pretrial justice

• The opportunity to take pilot courses this summer—and help us reimagine our course catalog for 2023.

• A brand new website brimming with original content, curated resources and more

Thank you to everyone who encouraged us on this journey to redefine our focus and sharpen our strategies. We're so happy to be back — and we look forward to working with you again!