Uptrust

02/11/2022

Happy to see The Crime Report lifting up our work supporting thousands (soon to be millions) of people navigating the criminal legal system!

A new app called Uptrust that connects probation officers and their clients with automatic reminders of court dates has already helped hundreds of justice-involved people avoid “technical violations” that would otherwise send them back behind bars.

01/12/2022

Did you know that in the , people who live in West Oakland can expect to live on average of 10 years less than those who live 7-miles away in the more affluent Berkeley Hills?

We are extremely proud of our new partnership with the American Heart Association, funded by the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, to sustainably address the like food insecurity, mental health, early childhood development and economic stability.



Read more here:
https://www.yahoo.com/now/san-francisco-oakland-social-entrepreneurs-120000813.html

DALLAS, January 11, 2022 — In the San Francisco Bay Area, people who live in West Oakland can expect to live on average of 10 years less than those who live 7-miles away in the more affluent Berkeley Hills. To sustainably remove the social and economic...

05/18/2021

We’re honored to announce that we’ve closed a $2M seed financing round, backed by The De-carceration Fund, , and Stand Together Ventures Lab. This funding round will enable the continued growth and expansion of our platform into parole.

Since our founding, we’ve been focused on leveraging our platform to keep people out of jail who shouldn’t be there, helping 250,000 justice-involved individuals nationwide attend their court dates, marking a 50% reduction in failures-to-appear and millions of cost savings. We are looking forward to what comes next.

Check out the full announcement here: https://prn.to/3fw3C9A

/PRNewswire/ -- Uptrust, the civic empowerment technology company working to keep people out of jail who shouldn't be there, today announced the close of its...

02/04/2021

T-minus two hours until the award show!

You can watch it live on Vimeo here: http://www.vimeo.com/showcase/notimpossibleawards

The Not Impossible Commitment Award for dedication to evolving tools for a more just society is awarded to Uptrust for their technology that humanizes navigating the justice system. The award is made possible by UKG - Ultimate Kronos Group.

Uptrust builds software for low-income Americans navigating the criminal justice system, eliminating technical violations by making compliance easy. Uptrust uses text messages sent on behalf of public defenders to communicate with defendants about mandatory appointments which is more effective than calls from anonymous numbers or mailed reminders that don't reach the recipient.

Discover their story at the on February 4, 2021.

RSVP: http://bit.ly/2021NIAwards

01/08/2021

We are honored to be featured as the 2020 Not Impossible Labs Commitment Award Winner!

RSVP now to save your spot at the virtual show on 2/4! 📽️ ✨ http://bit.ly/2021NIAwards
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The Not Impossible Commitment Award for dedication to evolving tools for a more just society is awarded to Uptrust for their technology that humanizes navigating the justice system. The award is made possible by UKG - Ultimate Kronos Group.

Uptrust builds software for low-income Americans navigating the criminal justice system, eliminating technical violations by making compliance easy. Uptrust uses text messages sent on behalf of public defenders to communicate with defendants about mandatory appointments which is more effective than calls from anonymous numbers or mailed reminders that don't reach the recipient.

Discover their story at the on February 4, 2021.

RSVP: http://bit.ly/2021NIAwards

01/08/2021

"It costs about $5.1 million a year for Hennepin County to jail people who failed to attend court hearings and about $1.4 million to hold court hearings where defendants don’t appear, according to a 2019 report from the Fourth Judicial District."

A day (or more) spent in jail due to a forgotten appointment has reverberating effects on individuals, their families, and communities. Innovative solutions like Uptrust solve these completely avoidable issues.

We are proud to be donating a free year of service to our new partner, the Hennepin County Public Defender, to help keep people out of jail, preserve communities, and reduce government waste.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — New technology is giving people who opt for public defenders in Hennepin County a way to receive hearing reminders and to communicate directly with their attorneys. The...

12/16/2020

Excited for our next tomorrow 12/17 @ 10 AM PST/1 PM EST!

The Power of Community: How to Engage Your Community to Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes

Ft. Clinton Lacey, Raj Jayadev, Wesley Caines, Sarah Moore, & Seann Riley.

Register here: http://Uptrust.co/webinars

DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services • SV De-Bug • Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition • The Bronx Defenders

10/28/2020

Bringing Probation Back to Its Rehabilitative Roots

Excited to announce our first webinar ft. Brian Lovins, Ron Corbett, Scott MacDonald, & our very own Susan Rice!

Register here: http://Uptrust.co/webinars

10/28/2020

Just as flight risk is a myth for low-income defendants, a lot of "recidivism" is driven by poverty-related tech violations. To continue our mission to keep ppl out of jail, we are expanding to work w/community supervision departments to promote success rather than catch failure.

To be clear, we'll be continuing our same client and community-oriented approach to technology — that means our products will never geolocate or cost a cent to anyone navigating the criminal legal system.

04/15/2020

Our Director of Partnerships wrote an explaining how a judge's decision to set bail can be the equivalent of a death sentence with rapidly spreading in our jails and prisons. Check it out in USA TODAY

COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in prisons and jails, targeting populations most vulnerable to outbreaks — including inmates never convicted of a crime.

03/09/2020

Uptrust has significantly reduced the failure to appear rate in multiple counties across the U.S. and sees “up to $5 billion in potential savings for cash-strapped municipalities and state governments.” See more details of our funding announcement on TechCrunch.

While most technology companies are building up a surveillance state to serve political powers and private profiteering, Uptrust is using some of those same tools to make it easier to move people out of the criminal justice system. And the San Francisco-based startup has just raised $1.3 million to....

03/03/2020

We are excited to announce new funding that allows us to improve our product and expand our reach! Looking forward to continuing to work with existing partners (and signing up some new ones!) to keep people out of jail who shouldn't be there.

SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) March 03, 2020 -- Software Company Expands Offerings to Lower Jail Populations In More Than 100 Jurisdictions

10/08/2019

“Now, the text messages that the city sends to defendants reminds them of when they need to appear and that the consequences — likely an arrest warrant — for failing to show are worse than the fine they might receive in court.

The effects of a warrant after missing court can be devastating, said Jeanette Boerner, first assistant public defender in Hennepin County.

‘Most people can survive one arrest,’ Boerner said. ‘But what they can’t survive is the constant disruption into their lives.’

‘Now I’m arrested, now it is another [two days in jail],’ she added as a hypothetical example. ‘What if I get arrested on a Friday, now I’m not appearing until Monday. Where are the kids? Where do they go? It just pushes them back and back and back into not being able to move forward.’”
http://ow.ly/vIdC50wE7Xi

Programs that provide texted reminders to people about upcoming court dates are spreading across the country. Proponents say the reminders offer an alternative to punishment and address some of the complex reasons that people don’t appear in court.

09/13/2019

In an interview with the American Bar Association our CEO explained the foundational problem Uptrust is working to fix.

"There is this perception that flight risk is a real thing that people need to worry about," Sills says. However, he says that the vast majority of criminal defendants are not flight risks—they’re attendance risks.

With just a couple of dollars, courts and public defenders can keep people from being arrested.Court date reminders sent to defendants via text message are an inexpensive, simple intervention being tested across the country.

09/13/2019

Check out our feature in TechCrunch!

On any given day in the United States, more than 450,000 people are behind bars awaiting their constitutionally mandated fair trial. None of them have been convicted of a crime — they’ve been accused of committing a crime, but no formal ruling of guilt or innocence has been made. That m…

09/13/2019

Check out this Vox video that explains why is so tricky!

Cash bail is great…if you can pay for it. Become a member of the Vox Video Lab! https://www.vox.com/join Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Lawma...