Studying real, case-level data from cities and counties reducing their jail populations has led researchers to a conclusion: pretrial reforms made through the Safety and Justice Challenge did not lead to rising rates of crime, violent of otherwise. Two new analyses show this trend on both a initiative-wide and county-specific level.

The timely resolution of court cases is a responsibility of the court system. But many criminal courts struggle to resolve cases in reasonable timeframes, with case processing times increasing even when court filings decrease.

For the fourth year in a row, an analysis of individual-level jail data and county-level crime trends assessing the relationship between pretrial release and crime affirms past findings: violent crime and the rate that people returned to jail after release have remained the same before and after reforms were implemented. 

Building on past work, Measuring Progress has expanded to include a new set of insights, highlighting the impact of SJC strategies on the individuals cycling through the jail system, what charges they are coming in on, how long they are staying, and whether they are returning to custody.

Factors leading to rising rates of incarcerated women are not well-understood or researched. Recognizing the differences in pathways that lead women and survivors of violence to jail are crucial to developing more gender-responsive, equitable, and effective criminal justice policies focused on reducing jail populations.

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.