Californians for Safety and Justice

Progress Not Prisons

_SECTOR: SOCIAL JUSTICE

The Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) and Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ) are committed to advancing public safety solutions rooted in violence prevention, community health, rehabilitation, and support for crime victims rather than over-incarceration and investment in police.

Since 2017, Emergence has been working with both ASJ and CSJ to share incredibly compelling stories on a national stage, build advocacy movements, and create a culture of safety.

What began as a moment has grown into a national movement – challenging “tough-on-crime” narratives and creating ripple effects on the ways people talk about progress, safety, and prisons. 

Campaign Development | Copywriting  | Graphic Design | OOH | Organic Social Media | Organization Building | Paid Social Media | Public Relations | Research | Strategy  | Video Production | TV |  Web Design

 _THE CHALLENGE

In 2020, Californians voted on Proposition 20, a ballot initiative that sought to increase prison spending and re-categorize certain misdemeanors as felonies. The proposal would have rolled back years of progress in dismantling mass incarceration in a state that has been plagued by high prison populations for decades, pouring even more money into failed approaches that don’t make communities safer.

_SEARCHING FOR THE SIGNAL

Polling data and focus group insights indicated that many Californians saw increases in theft, homelessness, and drug addiction and felt that a sense of lawlessness had taken over in certain areas. While California has a reputation as a bastion of progressive ideals, there is a long tradition of “tough on crime” politics in the state. These forces sought to position recent reforms as the direct cause of the state’s struggles with homelessness, mental illness, and addiction.

We needed to capture both the ineffectiveness and waste of prison spending and the more useful alternatives that are starved for investment.

_EMERGENCE

Using a distinct, iconic illustration style, we created a campaign video that depicts the many ways in which excessive prison spending holds all of California back by creating an excessively punitive system that fails to rehabilitate people convicted of crimes and robs investment from more valuable forms of social support.

The animation and messaging convey the catastrophic consequences of these policies, and offers an alternative way forward. The voiceover and original score were provided by Grammy-Award winning artist John Forte.

The campaign launched in English and Spanish, and also featured bold out-of-home installations, social media, a website, and collateral for activists.

_EVOLUTION

Proposition 20 was successfully defeated in the 2020 election, and CSJ continues to use the ‘Progress Not Prisons’ brand to further the dialogue on ensuring public safety through sensible and humane reforms to the criminal justice system.