State Reform Profile
New York
New York has dramatically reduced its prison population from 70,000 to under 30,000. Cash bail reform and the Marihuana Regulation Act are landmark achievements.
Key Statistics
Incarceration by Race
Incarceration rate per 100,000 residents. Racial estimates based on BJS/Sentencing Project methodology.
Recidivism Rate
Percent of people reincarcerated within 3 years of release. Source: BJS recidivism data series.
Cost vs. Alternatives
Active & Passed Reforms
5 initiativesLess Is More ActView full details →
Ended incarceration for technical parole violations, freeing thousands.
Bail Reform ActView full details →
Eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanors and non-violent felonies.
MRTA – Marijuana LegalizationView full details →
Legalized marijuana with 40% of tax revenue to communities most impacted.
Data Sources & Methodology
Reform data sourced from state legislative records, BJS Criminal Justice Statistics, the Vera Institute Incarceration Trends dataset, and The Sentencing Project. AltReform prediction scores (0,100) are generated by our ML model trained on 20+ years of state-level reform outcomes, weighting recidivism reduction, racial equity impact, cost-effectiveness, and political feasibility. Statistics are the most recent available (2021,2024).
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