
Akua
Amaning
Director, Criminal Justice Reform
We focus on developing policies to shrink the justice system’s footprint, improve public health and safety, and promote equity and accountability.
Our work is centered around developing and supporting policies that will end unjust punishments and reduce the social and economic harms of mass incarceration, which have disproportionately devastated Black people and other communities of color.
We work to advance meaningful alternatives to the criminal legal system that address the root causes of violence, promote community-driven responses to people in crisis, and increase investments that improve public health and community safety over the long term.
We are working to drastically reduce the criminalization of drugs in America while restoring communities that have been most affected by harsh drug enforcement measures.
We advocate for policy options that remove obstacles and barriers for people affected by the criminal justice system while simultaneously highlighting the leadership of affected people in the reform movement.
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The Criminal Justice Reform team collaborates with a number of justice reform partners at the national, state, and local levels to help build a more progressive justice system.
The Justice Roundtable is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 organizations working to reform federal criminal justice laws and policies.
Justice Roundtable
The Clean Slate Initiative is a national bipartisan coalition advancing policies to automatically clear all eligible criminal records across the United States and help state partners provide people with a fresh start.
Clean Slate Initiative
The Marijuana Justice Coalition is a broad coalition of national advocacy organizations, convened by the Drug Policy Alliance, who have joined forces to advocate for federal marijuana reform through a racial and economic justice lens.
Drug Policy Alliance - Marijuana Justice Coalition
Akua Amaning writes about why federal policymakers should pass clean slate legislation.
Rasheed’s story sheds light on the barriers that so many young adults face when returning to their communities and the opportunities that second chance policies give to young adults who are looking to enter the labor market.
St. Cyr's story illustrates the need for supportive reentry services for formerly incarcerated individuals who face barriers to accessing employment due to exclusionary policies.
Young adults reentering communities after incarceration face many barriers to finding stable work, but forward-thinking policies can lead to better employment outcomes and safer communities.
Many young adults re-entering communities after incarceration face institutional barriers to reaching their employment goals—and policymakers can and should take action to help them.
Patrick Gaspard partners with Color of Change's Rashad Robinson and the Vera Institute of Justice's Nicholas Turner to discuss the dangers of traffic stops for Black motorists and to urge leaders at the federal, state, and local levels to seek solutions.
The killing of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police in Memphis has focused the national attention on the dangers of driving while Black in America and the urgent need for police reform that fulfills the promise of public safety.
The economy; democracy and the courts; and community safety and gun violence are expected to be at center stage as President Biden prepares to address the nation during his second State of the Union address.
New CAP analysis highlights how the nation’s failed experiment with mass incarceration and overcriminalization strips wealth from families and widens the racial wealth gap.
The cash bail status quo harms community safety through its effects on health, economic stability, employment, familial relationships, and housing.
A new research study finds no evidence linking progressive prosecutors to rising crime in major cities.
With the help of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, governments are expanding their public safety strategies to invest in community responder programs that reduce reliance on law enforcement and provide communities with meaningful emergency management support.
Community violence intervention programs are a critical part of a comprehensive approach to reduce the impact of rising gun violence on youth and in U.S. communities.
Reform to cash bail and pretrial practices promotes public safety and decreases harm for those who are arrested.
With the support of funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, state governments are expanding their public safety strategies to invest in proven crime reduction strategies that go beyond traditional law enforcement efforts to support communities at risk of violence.
Houston, Boston, and Newark have improved public safety through violence prevention efforts outside traditional law enforcement.
Violence interruption is a community-based intervention strategy that can reduce gun violence and improve public safety in neighborhoods around the country.
Cash bail practices undermine the presumption of innocence in the criminal legal system and lead to racially and economically disparate outcomes.
The commercial bail industry perpetuates unjust cash bail systems and relies on egregious practices to protect its bottom line.
The commercial bail industry perpetuates unjust cash bail systems and relies on egregious practices to protect its bottom line.
There is no evidence linking bail reform to the rising rates of violent crime in the United States.
Leaders around the nation should prioritize community-based violence intervention programs to reduce gun violence and violent crime more broadly.
Community-based violence intervention programs have proved to reduce homicides and shootings.
How civilian offices of violence prevention can curb gun violence by supporting community-driven solutions.