2022 Annual Report
Crime trends, long prison sentences, racial disparities, policing, veterans in the justice system, Medicaid for incarcerated people, community violence reduction - we were busy last year.

CCJ report shows drop in homicide, other violent crime in 2022
Murder, gun assaults and most other types of violent crime fell last year, but robberies increased and motor vehicle thefts surged
Black-White National Imprisonment Trends,
2000 to 2020
A new report advancing earlier CCJ research examines 2000-2020 trends in racial disparities within the U.S. criminal justice system.
Centering Justice
Centering Justice is a collaborative project engaging a diverse range of the nation’s top thinkers and doers in an ongoing, ideologically vibrant conversation about criminal justice policy.
Veterans Justice Commission
Roughly 200,000 active-duty service members leave the armed forces each year. Most transition to civilian life successfully, but others struggle with mental health challenges, substance use, homelessness, and criminality.
A Statistical Portrait
Through a series of charts, Long Sentences by the Numbers outlines the most current and comprehensive data available on the nature and extent of long sentences, which the Task Force defines as prison terms of 10 years or more.
A Synthesis of Stakeholder Input
Read the second in a series of publications from the Health and Reentry Project (HARP). It outlines key principles for changing Medicaid’s role in reentry, proposes a new reentry care model, and identifies essential elements for successful implementation of potential Medicaid reentry policies.
Violent Crime Working Group
Composed of a diverse range of leaders representing community organizations, law enforcement, the public health sector, and academia, the Violent Crime Working Group is dedicated to addressing the most pressing and challenging issues concerning crime, violence, and justice.
Consensus Proposals to Improve Policing
Launched in late 2020, the Task Force on Policing identified the policies and practices most likely to reduce excessive use of force, increase accountability, and rebuild trust between the police and communities. The diverse group of law enforcement, civil rights, and community leaders assessed more than two dozen reforms and identified five top priorities. The final report highlighted five priorities for reform.
Welcome to the Council
Independent and nonpartisan, the Council is an invitational membership organization and think tank, serving as a center of gravity and incubator of policy and leadership for the criminal justice field.
Grounding Criminal Justice Policy in Facts and Evidence
upclose Spotlight

“Being the first and only formerly incarcerated person in a state legislature has a lot of challenges and opportunities … My current work oftentimes right now in this environment is playing defense actually, and trying to stop us from reverting to failed policies of the past.”
Tarra Simmons
Founding Director, Civil Survival

"It is hard to find anything that can more positively impact our communities than opening up gateways of opportunity for people who have had interaction with the justice system."
Jeffrey Korzenik
Firth Third Bank

“I feel like particularly when we’re talking about the criminal justice system, we’re at a stage where a lot of the problems have been very well defined … But I think the challenge that we face in the country is building up a set of alternatives, what to do instead. If we’re not going to rely as much on police and prosecutors and prisons … then what are we going to build up in its place?”
James Forman, Jr.
Faculty Director, Yale Law and Racial Justice Center