The FBI's recently released crime data confirms what we know: the pandemic-era spike in crime has largely subsided. But what caused it? To understand the big picture, we need to go deeper than federal data, which is only released annually.

These findings provide evidence that advancing equitable and thoughtful criminal legal reform is possible without compromising safety to the community.

In 2023, we began leading an entirely new work stream in partnership with the MacArthur Foundation and its affiliates to review and summarize lessons learned from across SJC-funded research projects and initiatives. The goal of this SJC synthesis work is to tap into our unique bird’s eye view to identify issues within the SJC research priorities that inform our work and the field at large.

As part of its efforts to lower jail populations across America and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the Safety and Justice Challenge recently funded a project examining racial disparities within a county jail. The resulting report presents an approach that can build greater racial equity within jail settings.

As part of its efforts to lower jail populations across America and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge recently funded a project examining racial disparities within a county jail.

Across communities participating in the study, people with frequent jail contact account for a majority of bookings, but account for a minority of the people booked. People of color and people with behavioral health needs are overrepresented.

A new study – “At The Intersection of Probation and Jail Reduction Efforts” – is a building block in understanding how probation, jail, and housing challenges intersect, and how providing transitional housing support can help reduce jail incarceration.

Blaming violent crime on criminal legal reforms without any evidence has many negative consequences, including increased political pressure to expand unnecessary, harmful and expensive incarceration practices. Equally dangerously, it diverts resources away from understanding the actual causes of crime, including the complex impact of COVID-19.

In an effort to avoid disrupting people’s employment, family, and other commitments, the Criminal Justice Investment Initiative (CJII) funded Project Reset, a post-arrest, pre-arraignment diversion program that diverts people arrested for low-level crimes away from the courts and into community-based alternatives.

Jurisdictions across the country can learn from efforts to study probation violations in-depth. A new report on probation violations as a driver of jail time in St. Louis County, Missouri shows that expediated probation programs have much to offer and can work to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the system.

When it comes to fixing the societal problems that may lead to crime, it’s well understood that the overreliance on incarceration—especially local jails—is deeply inadequate. However, there is very little known about how to reduce that overreliance on local jails.

New research by Justice System Partners supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC) shows the positive impacts of police-led deflection strategies on jail reduction efforts.