Need Bail Money? Jay-Z & Roc Nation Investing $3 Million in Bail Reform Startup, “Promise App”

Need Bail Money? Jay-Z & Roc Nation Investing $3 Million in Bail Reform Startup, ” Promise App ”

According to TechCrunch, Roc Nation is supporting the new app Promise, which seeks to deliver “a cost-effective, more humane alternative to incarceration by extending the capabilities of community supervision, improving long-term outcomes for individuals and communities.”

The goal of the app is to reduce incarceration and recidivism levels in the county by giving local governments “an alternative to holding low-risk people behind bars simply because they can’t afford bail.” According to the Vera Institute of Justice, more than half of the jail population in the country are individuals who can’t afford to bail themselves out.

In a statement Monday, JAY-Z, who has been vocal about prison reform including a writing an op-ed piece for the New York Times about the “exploitative bail industry, spoke to why the change is needed.

“We are increasingly alarmed by the injustice in our criminal justice system,” JAY-Z said “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.”

Promise’s approach involves a three-step process where first a plan is made through their intake and assessment period before providing support during a person’s legal proceedings and finally continuing to supervise the individual so they can remain outside the eye of law enforcement. The app is without a release date but will be officially introduced on Tuesday (March 20) at Y Combinator Demo Day by creators Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins and Diana Frappier.

For more information regarding the initiative, visit Promise’s official website.

Source Billboard.com and BoomBox.com