Public Safety

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

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

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

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

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

Judges sit at a critical juncture in the juvenile justice system, determining the most appropriate sanctions and services for young offenders. However, judges often lack viable options to hold these offenders accountable and ensure they receive the interventions they need to get back on track with their families, schools, and communities. Read More

Since the late 1990s, the rate at which juveniles are arrested for violent crimes has been cut in half, and so has the rate at which they are committed to state juvenile corrections facilities. 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

Health care and corrections have emerged as fiscal pressure points for states in recent years as rapid spending growth in each area has competed for finite revenue. Not surprisingly, health care spending for prison inmates—the intersection of these two spheres—also has risen swiftly. 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

In the September/October 2014 issue of Sheriff magazine, Sheriff Craig Webre of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, and national crime victim advocate Anne Seymour voiced their support for sentencing and corrections reforms. As long-standing partners on crime victims’ rights and support programs, sheriffs and victims are now working together to back reforms that further their common goals of improving... 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