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Rights and Justice

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.

People march for the third day since the release of the grand jury report on the death of Breonna Taylor on September 26, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Getty/Michael M. Santiago)

What We're Doing

Ending mass incarceration

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.

Community safety and justice

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.

The war on drugs

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.

Second chances

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.

The Criminal Justice Reform team focuses on developing policies to shrink the justice system’s footprint, improve public health and safety, and promote equity and accountability.

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Partners & Coalitions

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.

Recent Work

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Fact Sheet: Expanding the Public Safety Workforce Fact Sheet
Social workers provide a man experiencing homelessness with resources in a local park in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Fact Sheet: Expanding the Public Safety Workforce

Cities across the country are investing in safety by incorporating specially trained professionals such as community responders and community violence intervention professionals into their local public safety workforces.

Allie Preston, Rachael Eisenberg, Kirby Gaherty

Expanding the Public Safety Workforce Report
Three people speaking, with two standing outside van and one sitting inside.

Expanding the Public Safety Workforce

Cities across the country are exploring innovative ways to incorporate new professionals, such as community responders and community violence intervention professionals, into their existing public safety workforces to improve outcomes for communities.

Allie Preston, Rachael Eisenberg, Kirby Gaherty

Bipartisan Momentum Is Growing for Automatic Record Sealing Through the Clean Slate and Fresh Start Acts Article
The Capitol Building at sunset

Bipartisan Momentum Is Growing for Automatic Record Sealing Through the Clean Slate and Fresh Start Acts

Even after serving their time, millions of Americans carry an arrest or conviction record that makes it hard for them to access a second chance to rebuild their lives. Congress should pass automatic record-sealing legislation to unlock second chances, boost economic mobility, and improve public safety.

Akua Amaning

Effective Public Safety Messaging Strategies for Local Leaders Past Event

Effective Public Safety Messaging Strategies for Local Leaders

Join the Center for American Progress for an event with public safety and communications leaders about effective messaging on public safety and challenges in communicating crime data to the public.

Center for American Progress | Online

Effective Public Safety Messaging Strategies for Local Leaders Convening Past Event

Effective Public Safety Messaging Strategies for Local Leaders Convening

Join the Center for American Progress for an event with public safety and communications leaders about effective messaging on public safety and challenges in communicating crime data to the public.

Center for American Progress | Online

International Program Demonstrates How Centering Human Dignity in Reentry Improves Public Safety Article

International Program Demonstrates How Centering Human Dignity in Reentry Improves Public Safety

In Brazil, a prison-based reentry program known as APAC centers human dignity in its efforts to reintegrate individuals fully back into society, serving as a model that U.S. leaders and policymakers alike should consider expanding to improve reentry and public safety outcomes.

Akua Amaning

Progressive Prosecutors Were Not Responsible for Increases in Violent or Property Crime Before, During, or After the COVID-19 Pandemic Article

Progressive Prosecutors Were Not Responsible for Increases in Violent or Property Crime Before, During, or After the COVID-19 Pandemic

A newly released report finds no evidence that prosecutors of any type are responsible for increases in crimes in their jurisdictions, concluding instead that hyperlocal social, environmental, and economic conditions are much more likely to drive crime trends.

Lindsey McLendon

Sonya Massey’s Memory Should Spur Federal Action To Meaningfully Change Policing Article
Protesters gather in New York’s Washington Square Park on July 25, 2024.

Sonya Massey’s Memory Should Spur Federal Action To Meaningfully Change Policing

The killing of Sonya Massey at the hands of police should motivate federal policymakers to finally take action that will create real accountability and deliver lasting safety for people of color.

Rachael Eisenberg

Improving Public Safety Through Better Accountability and Prevention Report

Improving Public Safety Through Better Accountability and Prevention

Improving public safety requires a comprehensive set of accountability and prevention strategies that seek to change behavior while addressing the conditions giving rise to crime.

Lindsey McLendon, Rachael Eisenberg, Nick Wilson

Film Screening: ‘The 50’ Past Event

Film Screening: ‘The 50’

A documentary film about a groundbreaking mental health program in a California prison, told by the program’s first 50 participants. The film will be followed by a discussion with the film's director and subjects.

CAP Online | After registering, stream "The 50" during this timeframe:

Film Screening: ‘The 50’ (Online) Past Event

Film Screening: ‘The 50’ (Online)

A documentary film about a groundbreaking mental health program in a California prison, told by the program’s first 50 participants. The film will be followed by a discussion with the film's director and subjects.

CAP Online | Stream "The 50" on this webpage during this timeframe:

Dispatching Community Responders to 911 Calls Report

Dispatching Community Responders to 911 Calls

This report compares three principal models that cities are using to dispatch community responder teams, answers frequently asked questions, and shares lessons learned.

Amos Irwin, Rachael Eisenberg

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event
CAP IDEAS Conference logo

2023 CAP IDEAS Conference

Join the Center for American Progress as we celebrate 20 years of innovative policy solutions and look boldly forward to a progressive future.

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis Fact Sheet

Executive Summary: A Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach to Tackling the Opioid Crisis

This fact sheet summarizes a recent Center for American Progress report outlining the need for a whole-of-government, society-wide approach to addressing the complex challenges posed by the opioid overdose epidemic.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach Report
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents sift through packages in search of fentanyl.

Tackling the Opioid Crisis Requires a Whole-of-Government, Society-Wide Approach

The opioid epidemic is a complex public health crisis that can be ameliorated by addressing root causes of drug use; expanding access to treatment and harm reduction strategies; and reducing the supply of illicit opioids entering the United States.

Trinh Q. Truong, Debu Gandhi, Jill Rosenthal, 5 More Marquisha Johns, Mariam Rashid, Dan Restrepo, Akua Amaning, Cleo Bluthenthal

Safe Streets for All: An Opportunity To Rethink Traffic Enforcement Article
A police officer directs traffic in Highland Park, Illinois.

Safe Streets for All: An Opportunity To Rethink Traffic Enforcement

The Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets for All program can be leveraged to support community-level innovation in roadway safety efforts, including by rethinking traffic enforcement strategies to improve the physical and psychological safety of Black drivers and others on the road.

Allie Preston

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