Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for NARAS
Two days after Diddy announced he and JAY-Z were teaming up on an app to help blacks gain economic buying power, the 48-year-old Roc Nation honcho is investing $3M in yet another application, but this one is aimed at improving the criminal justice system.
According to the Vera Institute of Justice, nationwide, 62% of the jail population accounts for people who can’t afford bail. A lot of these incarcerated individuals are behind bars because they committed crimes at the misdemeanor level or lower and that bill — reportedly costing a whopping $38M a day. Insert Promise, a program that offers counties and local governments an alternative to holding low-risk people behind bars simply because they can’t afford bail.
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“We are increasingly alarmed by the injustice in our criminal justice system,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Money, time and lives are wasted with the current policies. It’s time for an innovative and progressive technology that offers sustainable solutions to tough problems. Promise’s team, led by co-founder and CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, is building an app that can help provide ‘liberty and justice for all’ to millions.”
TechCrunch reports, “For each participant, Promise provides counties with a comprehensive intake procedure and then sets up each participant with a care plan specific to them. Promise will then monitor and support participants by helping them ensure they know when they’re supposed to appear in court, and remind them of obligations like drug testing or substance abuse treatment needed. The app also helps participants access job training, housing, counseling and referrals.
Jay is black excellence at its finest!
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