Our Network

Fifty-seven participating cities, counties, and states across the country are doing the on-the-ground work of reimagining and rebuilding local justice systems.

With grants from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, the Network is implementing a wide variety of strategies all aimed at reducing jail populations and eliminating racial and ethnic disparities. These tactics and successes can be used as models for similar reforms across the country.

Some of the cities and counties within the Safety and Justice Challenge received a grant through the Challenge Innovation Fund. These jurisdictions receive funding, technical assistance, and ongoing access to resources and peer learning opportunities.

Stand Out Statistics

29%

San Francisco cut jail usage by nearly a third and shuttered a decrepit and inhumane jail facility for good.

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40%

Philadelphia cut its overall jail population by 40%, closed an antiquated facility, and reduced jail booking rates for people of color by 15%.

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27%

Charleston County also slashed both its overall jail population (by 27%) and the rate at which people of color were booked into the jail (by 23%).

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30%

Cook County changed its bail policy, more than doubling pretrial releases without financial conditions, while cutting its overall jail population by 30%.

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Participating Cities, Counties, and States

Local leaders in the Safety and Justice Challenge Network represent diverse circumstances and perspectives—from small communities to huge urban centers, and everything in between. Together, they are redesigning our nation’s justice system from the ground up.

Reduced Jail Population

Action Areas

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All Locations

Northeast

Southwest

Southeast

Midwest

West

Northeast

Southeast

Midwest

West

Southwest

In the news

The Appeal

Palm Beach County Sheriff Opposes Prisoner Release Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

04/09/2020

By Victoria Law

Public defenders are working with the courts to secure release for people incarcerated in the Florida county, many of whom are jailed for low-level offenses.

Crime Report

How to Make Courthouse Walls ‘More Porous’ | The Crime Report

02/25/2020

By John Chisholm and Tom Reed

In Milwaukee, DA John Chisholm and Public Defender Tom Reed have teamed up to transform local justice from an 'adversarial' model to a system oriented to preventing harm and involving a network of community services. Could it work elsewhere?

The Appeal

New Data Suggests Risk Assessment Tools Have Little Impact on Pretrial Incarceration

02/10/2020

By Ethan Corey

Around one-third of counties in the United States use the tools when making release decisions, but few monitor whether they work as intended.