The Safety and Justice Challenge is reimagining and rebuilding local criminal justice systems — reducing jail incarceration and increasing equity for all.
America's Problem with Jails
Jails have become warehouses for people who are poor, lack housing, or suffer from mental illness or addiction. They starkly reflect America’s long history of racism.
Jails have almost 19x the number of annual admissions as prisons.
Three out of five people held in jail have not been convicted of any crime.
Nearly 75% of people in jail are there for nonviolent traffic, property, drug, or public order offenses.
Black people are jailed at almost 4x the rate of White Americans.
Jails are misused and overused in ways that damage families, devastate communities, and ultimately lead to more crime.
Finding Solutions
The Safety and Justice Challenge invests in locally developed, equity-based solutions that take a balanced approach to protecting public safety, including:
Our goal is to:
Our goal is to support policies and practices that will safely reduce jail populations by 50% across all Safety and Justice Challenge jurisdictions by 2025 and eliminate racial inequities. We’re providing practical support and scaffolding to communities that are taking bold action in response to centuries of institutional and systemic racism, honoring the expertise of directly impacted communities, and working together to achieve transformational change.
Our Network
Our Network of participating cities, counties, and states is tackling America’s jail crisis at the local level, implementing community-informed solutions that can be replicated across the country. Network members receive support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and include small communities and the biggest urban centers, with diverse perspectives leading to a range of approaches. These local leaders share solutions and lessons learned with each other and the public so all can do better.
57Counties, Cities, and States
16%of the nation's jail beds
22%network-wide jail incarceration reduction to date
What we are reading
Prism
The future of public safety lies in prioritizing people, not police
11/03/2021
Real protection and support in our communities requires greater investment in social services and more divestment from law enforcement
New York Times
Pulled Over: What to Know About Deadly Police Traffic Stops
10/31/2021
A New York Times investigation examines why traffic stops can escalate into fatal encounters and how hidden financial incentives increase the risks. This is what we found.
Mother Jones
What if Everything You Know About Murder Rates and Policing Is Wrong?
10/21/2021
Five common myths about the FBI's homicide data, debunked.
1 in 3 veterans report having been arrested and booked into jail. Those who have served need better assistance in the transition from service to civilian life. Read the recommendations from @CouncilonCJ. #RethinkJails #VeteransDay
Philly received a grant for their participation in the Just Home project. We look forward to working with them to continue to create a more effective strategy that disrupts the revolving door between streets and prison cells. #RethinkJails
(via @Hoodline)
It’s been 2 years since the fall of Roe. Now for most on probation & parole, the ability to receive abortion care depends on getting permission to travel out of state from an officer.
Access to basic health care should never be in the hands of officers.
Philly is participating in the Just Home project, funded and supported by @macfound and @urbaninstitute to help the city break the link between homelessness and incarceration. #RethinkJails
(via @MetroPhilly)
A reminder on #ElectionDay: Many formerly incarcerated people are not able to participate in our democracy. However, a Nevada law has ensured that 70,000 residents can exercise their right to vote. #RethinkJails
✍️: @NomuraReports, @News3LV
November is Native American Heritage Month.
Sadly, Native people are consistently overrepresented in the US criminal legal system, accounting for only 1% of the total population but 3% of the incarcerated population.
Violent crime has gone down since last year. ⬇️ To understand the big picture, SJC’s data with @cunyislg helps fill the gaps in annual FBI data. #RethinkJails
To #RethinkJails, we have to rethink solitary confinement. Jails are inherently harmful and solitary adds additional stress, disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic people, and has potentially lethal mental health effects.
(via @PrisonPolicy)
When disaster hits, people held in jails and prisons are often left behind without food or water. They are also exploited for their labor and abandoned during wildfires and floods. #RethinkJails
(via @verainstitute)
Last month, the FBI released their annual crime statistics, showing violent crime decreasing.
FBI data is only a starting point. With @safety_justice, we've built a trove of crime & jail data sourced from cities & counties that paints a bigger picture.
A Philadelphia program, with funds from SJC, employs teens to turn empty lots into community gardens. This is giving Kensington positive and productive areas that residents can hang out and enjoy. #RethinkJails
✍️: @MichelleAMyers, @phillyInquirer
Those in Cook County Jail are reclaiming their voice and learning about their right to vote. The jail is one of the few in the U.S. to offer in-person voting. 🗳️💪#RethinkJails
✍️: @TLeeOnTV, @fox32news
“Criminalizing survival behaviors only perpetuates the cycle of homelessness and incarceration.” - @LiselPetis, @RSI
Providing jobs and offering safe areas for those living in vehicles are more effective strategies. #RethinkJails
We’re so happy to have Missoula County be part of our Just Home Initiative with the @urbaninstitute! Homelessness often leads to incarceration, which leads to more homelessness. Together, we’re working to break this cycle. #RethinkJails
✍️ @missoulacurrent
Our society is failing incarcerated people during crises - from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change. We need better plans for when disaster strikes, because people in jails and prisons should not be left to suffer. #RethinkJails
(via @verainstitute)
👏Allegheny County has been selected to participate in our Just Home project with the @urbaninstitute to dismantle the cycle that frequently transitions individuals from incarceration back into homelessness or vice versa. #RethinkJails
🗳️People held in jail and not convicted of a crime have the right to vote, but not all jails provide ballot boxes or write-in ballots. This deprives racially and economically marginalized communities of political power.
(via @verainstitute)
Native people are overrepresented in the criminal legal system, with the growth in their jail population disproportionately impacting women and older adults. It’s time to #RethinkJails to address the negative impact on Native communities.
✍️: @PrisonPolicy
Mandatory probation rules make it too easy to “fail” and end up behind bars. This is a result of vaguely defined conditions and a one size fits all approach. #RethinkJails
(via @PrisonPolicy)
Success: A program that diverts people into mental health treatment is working. 91% of those who have graduated from this program avoided having a new criminal case filed.
✍️: @robertgarrova, @LAist