Mayor Eric Adams announced an expansion of a program Monday that connects people on probation with so-called “credible messengers” who encourage former offenders to avoid criminal activity. 

Under the expansion, every person on probation aged 21 and under will be partnered with a credible messenger. Such messengers typically have gone through the criminal justice system. 

One study of a New York City credible messenger program found that pairing a young adult on probation with a mentor reduced by half the likelihood that the former offender would be convicted again for a felony in the following two years. 

Adams said that the city’s probation department would also expand its Neighborhood Opportunity Network (NeON) centers to more locations around the city. The centers offer classes, mentoring and run sports leagues designed primarily for people on probation. 

Adams framed the program expansion as a way to reduce the revolving door effect for young people who are convicted for criminal offenses at early ages. 

“If you go up and do a bid, do time, upstate or in Rikers, and you come back to the same conditions, it's a setup,” Adams said. 

Adams said the city did not yet have a number for how many new NeON locations it would open this year. 

Adams also reappointed Ana Bermúdez to be commissioner of the city’s probation department, and named Deanna Logan as director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. The office had remained leaderless through the first two months of Adams’ term, despite his administration’s focus on improving public safety.