New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made four key criminal justice appointments to his administration, reports Politicker. Joseph Ponte will be corrrection commissioner, Ana Bermúdez will head the probation department, Elizabeth Glazer will direct the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice, and Vincent Schiraldi will be senior advisor to the criminal justice office. De Blasio said the new appointees “ave the depth of experience and knowledge necessary to reduce recidivism, increase public safety and lower incarceration rates.”
Ponte now is the Maine corrections commissioner. There, he cut use of solitary confinement by two-thirds, and eliminated the use of disciplinary segregation for people identified as mentally ill. Bermúdez has served most recently as deputy commissioner for juvenile operations in the city’s probation department. Glazer has been Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s advisor on criminal justice and special counsel to the New York State Attorney General. Schiraldi led the city’s probation department for four years, and will focus on “young adults in the criminal justice system” as well as school safety and reducing the number of students suspended and arrested.