Public Safety

From 1980 to 2013, the number of offenders incarcerated in federal prisons increased from approximately 24,000 to more than 215,000, making the federal system the largest in the nation. Policy choices contributed significantly to this expansion as lawmakers added criminal laws to the books, lengthened sentences, and abolished parole. Read More

Violent crime decreased by 4.6 percent, and property crime fell by 7.5 percent during the first six months of 2014, compared with the same six-month period in 2013, according to statistics released by the FBI in late January. Read More

West Virginia voters strongly support improving the state’s juvenile justice system by reducing the use of state-funded facilities and reinvesting in community supervision and programming, according to a statewide poll. Read More

Between 1980 and 2013, the federal imprisonment rate increased 518 percent while annual taxpayer spending on federal prisons rose 595 percent. Prison expenditures grew from 14 percent of the Justice Department’s total outlays to 23 percent, increasingly competing for resources with law enforcement and national security programs. Read More

On November 17-19, 2014, policy makers, experts, and other key decision makers from more than 30 states met to discuss the past, present, and future of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). Read More

From 1980 to 2013, the number of offenders incarcerated in federal prisons increased from approximately 24,000 to more than 215,000, making the federal system the largest in the nation. Policy choices contributed significantly to this expansion as lawmakers added criminal laws to the books, lengthened sentences, and abolished parole. Read More

West Virginia voters strongly support improving the state’s juvenile justice system by reducing the use of state-funded facilities and reinvesting in community supervision and programming, according to a statewide poll. Read More

Between 1980 and 2013, the federal imprisonment rate increased 518 percent while annual taxpayer spending on federal prisons rose 595 percent. Prison expenditures grew from 14 percent of the Justice Department’s total outlays to 23 percent, increasingly competing for resources with law enforcement and national security programs. Read More

In March 2012, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo invited the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative to collaborate with the Special Commission to Study the Commonwealth’s Criminal Justice System. Through this effort, Massachusetts is laying the groundwork for a strong evidence-based approach to policymaking that can... Read More

Voters support sending serious juvenile offenders to corrections facilities, but they favor a range of less-costly alternatives for lower-level offenders, according to a nationwide poll conducted in 2014 by a bipartisan team of pollsters Read More

Violent crime decreased by 4.6 percent, and property crime fell by 7.5 percent during the first six months of 2014, compared with the same six-month period in 2013, according to statistics released by the FBI in late January. Read More

Sens. Chuck Grassley and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced, on Dec. 11, a funding reauthorization bill for key juvenile justice programs that includes provisions to limit incarceration for “status offenses”—violations such as skipping school or running away from home that are not considered crimes for adults. These efforts are in line with what voters say they expect from the... Read More

Thirty-two states reduced both their imprisonment and crime rates over the past five years, according to a Pew analysis of crime data released by the FBI on Monday, November 10. With the national imprisonment rate down 6 percent from its peak in 2008 and the crime rate falling 16 percent over the same period, these trends provide further evidence that states can lower imprisonment and reduce... Read More

This article was originally published on the Health Affairs Blog. Read More

In a Sept. 26 speech to the Congressional Black Caucus, Attorney General Eric Holder recognized Georgia, Hawaii, and Kentucky for passing legislation to improve their juvenile justice systems and announced that they will receive federal funds to support implementation of their new laws’ provisions. The state reforms rely on research-based practices to protect public safety, hold youth... Read More

On November 17-19, 2014, policy makers, experts, and other key decision makers from more than 30 states met to discuss the past, present, and future of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). Read More

Over the past five years, the majority of states have reduced their imprisonment rates while experiencing less crime. The relationship between incarceration and crime is complex, but states continue to show that it is possible to reduce both at the same time. Read More

A.T. Wall, director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections; LaDonna Thompson, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Corrections; Colette Peters, director of Oregon Department of Corrections; and David Guice, commissioner of the Division of Adult Corrections, North Carolina Department of Public Safety discuss the need for criminal justice reform in this panel moderated by Mike... Read More

Adam Gelb of The Pew Charitable Trusts, Ruby Qazilbash of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and Michael Thompson of Council of State Governments Justice Center, kick off the Justice Reinvestment National Summit in San Diego, Nov. 17-19, 2014. Assistant Attorney General Karol Mason delivers the conference opening keynote address. Read More

The Crime Report’s Ted Gest, The Houston Chronicle’s Mark Ward, and the Associated Press’ Don Thompson discuss opportunities and challenges when covering criminal justice in the press in this panel moderated by The Marshall Project’s Bill Keller, at the Justice Reinvestment National Summit in San Diego, Nov. 17-19, 2014. Read More