MacArthur Foundation - Safety and Justice Challenge

MacArthur Foundation - Safety and Justice Challenge is sponsored by John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Supports communities working to safely reduce jail populations and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in local criminal justice systems.

Safety and Justice Challenge 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.

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 safely reduce jail populations 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 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.

100 Counties, Cities, and States 19% of the nation's jail beds 20% network-wide jail incarceration reduction to date Over the past decade, the Safety and Justice Challenge invested $6 million to help reduce overcrowding at the St. Louis County jail.

While the grant is coming to a close, officials say key reforms, including enhanced pretrial supervision, expedited probation handling, and Tap In Reply on Twitter 2059632093676618026 Retweet on Twitter 2059632093676618026 Like on Twitter 2059632093676618026 Texas jails are overcrowded, understaffed, and increasingly serving as de facto mental health facilities.

With new leadership at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, @statesman’s Cody Copeland argues now is the time for practical reforms that can save lives and reduce costs. Reply on Twitter 2057071948790636728 Retweet on Twitter 2057071948790636728 Like on Twitter 2057071948790636728 To address overcrowding, the St.

Louis County Jail is working with the Safety and Justice Challenge to screen certain people with lower-level violations to fast-track their hearings. Overcrowding can create an unsafe environment for everyone in jails.

Reply on Twitter 2054192977895956697 Retweet on Twitter 2054192977895956697 Like on Twitter 2054192977895956697 Safety and Justice Retweeted CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance How do you reflect on 10 years of data, from 50+ cities & counties, that resulted in 18k less people held in jail without impacting safety? The @safety_justice Challenge Research Symposium did just that. We recapped what worked and what should come next.

Reply on Twitter 2041244569849798857 Retweet on Twitter 2041244569849798857 Like on Twitter 2041244569849798857 Prior to joining the SJC, St. Louis County’s jail had been either near or above capacity for over a decade. The county’s goal was both to safely keep more people out of jail and make the justice system fairer.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2039153113735872650 Retweet on Twitter 2039153113735872650 Like on Twitter 2039153113735872650 When joining SJC, Spokane County set two major goals: reduce the number of people in its jails and make the local criminal justice system more fair. Overall, Spokane safely reduced its jail population by more than 13%.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2039096585083294183 Retweet on Twitter 2039096585083294183 Like on Twitter 2039096585083294183 Since joining the Safety and Justice Challenge, Pima County has worked to make its criminal justice system more fair, just, and equitable for all.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2038714839775023121 Retweet on Twitter 2038714839775023121 Like on Twitter 2038714839775023121 Philadelphia established a workgroup to develop strategies aimed at creating a more fair and just criminal justice system. #SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2037229082069585926 Retweet on Twitter 2037229082069585926 Like on Twitter 2037229082069585926 .

@nytimes spotlights a new development in CA's justice system: With support from @safety_justice, Medicaid is now paying for health care in jails and prisons to end the cycle of incarceration – a move supported by corrections and law enforcement leaders. Reply on Twitter 2036927108962812020 Retweet on Twitter 2036927108962812020 Like on Twitter 2036927108962812020 Native Americans are overrepresented in Pennington Co. ’s jail.

While they make up 10-20% of the population, more than 50% of the daily jail population was Native American in 2021. From 2018-2021, the county saw a 22% reduction in Native Americans referred to the jail.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2036523325544079589 Retweet on Twitter 2036523325544079589 Like on Twitter 2036523325544079589 When New Orleans joined the Safety and Justice Challenge in 2015, the city incarcerated nearly twice as many people each year as the national average. Since then, the jail population has safely decreased by over 17%.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2036147111688020270 Retweet on Twitter 2036147111688020270 Like on Twitter 2036147111688020270 . @RSI highlights a core SJC lesson: transparent information-sharing and consistent collaboration make justice systems work better for everyone.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2035100848456409465 Retweet on Twitter 2035100848456409465 Like on Twitter 2035100848456409465 Since the beginning of Multnomah County’s participation in the Safety and Justice Challenge, the community tackled innovative approaches to making the system more fair and just for everyone. #SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2034694619364233532 Retweet on Twitter 2034694619364233532 Like on Twitter 2034694619364233532 .

@veritenewsnola covers the recent decrease in NOLA’s jail population. The SJC, which ended in December, helped safely drive a 16%+ reduction by refining pretrial programs and diverting people w/ mental illness or substance use disorder to social services.

Reply on Twitter 2034392407635046538 Retweet on Twitter 2034392407635046538 Like on Twitter 2034392407635046538 From @NLADA: Over the last decade, SJC has shown that public safety must center the humanity, voices, and experiences of people and communities directly impacted by the criminal justice system.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2033965124759716264 Retweet on Twitter 2033965124759716264 Like on Twitter 2033965124759716264 In Missoula County, people being held pretrial and people with behavioral health needs in the jail have been key drivers of the jail population. By improving pretrial services, the average daily jail population has dropped by 50% for people accused on misdemeanors.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2033667599670935775 Retweet on Twitter 2033667599670935775 Like on Twitter 2033667599670935775 When Minnehaha Co. joined SJC, 24% of jail bookings and 37% of time in jail included individuals with behavioral health or substance use disorders. A community triage center helped people with needs access critical services.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2033325683557200230 Retweet on Twitter 2033325683557200230 Like on Twitter 2033325683557200230 📰 SJC in the news: @kpaxnews covered the launch of an initiative in Missoula County, created in partnership with SJC, to provide incarcerated people without housing stability and the tools they need to successfully re-enter society.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2032559606128333287 Retweet on Twitter 2032559606128333287 Like on Twitter 2032559606128333287 Milwaukee County far exceeded its original goal to safely reduce the overall jail population by 19%, thanks to a partnership among system and community stakeholders working hand-in-hand to build a fairer, more efficient, and effective justice system.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2032189989900243323 Retweet on Twitter 2032189989900243323 Like on Twitter 2032189989900243323 Many people waiting in Lucas Co. jails are affected by the available pretrial release options and the speed of case processing. From 2016–2020, the Population Review Team reviewed & recommended release in 669 cases, saving people a total 5,414 days in jail.

#SJCLegacy Reply on Twitter 2031805804882645405 Retweet on Twitter 2031805804882645405 Like on Twitter 2031805804882645405