David Muhammad is a leader in the fields of criminal justice, violence prevention, and youth development. Muhammad is the executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) where he provides leadership and technical assistance to the Gun Violence Reduction Strategies in cities across the country, including Oakland, CA, Indianapolis, IN, and Washington, DC. Muhammad helped lead a partnership of organizations and technical assistance providers that achieved a 50% reduction in shootings and homicides in Oakland. He was the main author of NICJR’s report on Oakland’s Successful Gun Violence Reduction Strategy.
For three years, Muhammad was extensively involved in developing a detailed reform plan for the Los Angeles County Probation Department, the largest probation department in the country. He also served as the technical assistance provider for the Sierra Health Foundation’s Positive Youth Justice Initiative, providing training and consulting to several California probation departments.
Muhammad was the federal court appointed monitor overseeing reforms in the Illinois juvenile justice system and in the Morales Settlement Agreement, which requires the Illinois Parole Review Board and the Illinois Department of Corrections to reform its parole system. He is also a member of the Antelope Valley Monitoring Team which is charged with monitoring the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department’s implementation of a federal Settlement Agreement.
Previously, Muhammad served as chief probation officer for Alameda County, overseeing 20,000 people on probation, a $90 million budget, and 600 staff. He was also deputy commissioner of New York City’s Probation Department and chief of committed services for Washington, DC’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. In addition, he was the first executive director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition and helped design Richmond, CA’s Office of Neighborhood Safety, credited with reducing violence in the city.
As a graduate of Howard University’s School of Communications, Muhammad also has an extensive journalism career. He also completed a course on “Systems Dynamics for Senior Managers” at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA. In August of 2008, Muhammad completed a certificate program on Juvenile Justice Multi-System Integration at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute.
