Council on Criminal Justice
@counciloncj.org
Nonpartisan think tank and invitational membership organization that advances understanding of the criminal justice policy choices facing the nation and builds consensus for solutions that enhance safety and justice for all. https://counciloncj.org/
“Progress that is not understood can be easily lost.” CCJ President & CEO @abgelb.bsky.social spoke with Bill O'Reilly on No Spin News to discuss findings from the Council's latest crime trends report and what we know and don’t know about the forces driving the recent drops in crime.
In today's hearing on Blanche's AG nomination, Senator Chuck Grassley cited CCJ's mid-year crime trends report and credited DOJ leadership for the broad declines in crime. While increased enforcement may play a role, there's no single or easy explanation for the drop. Read more 👇
With the federal prison population down by nearly a third over the past decade and violent crime falling near historic lows, how can closing prisons help contribute to greater public safety? A perspective from CCJ Senior Fellow Jonathan Wroblewski: sentencing.substack.com/p/the-prison...
The Prisons We No Longer Need
Thirteen years after setting out to shrink the federal prison population, that population is much smaller, the country is much safer, and BOP is finally closing prisons
sentencing.substack.com
On July 15th, CCJ Veterans Justice Commission Director David MacEwen testified at a @democrats-veterans.house.gov roundtable on how discharge status affects veterans' access to VA benefits—and how the @deptofwar.bsky.social and @deptvetaffairs.bsky.social can improve policies to better support them.
What should individual and system accountability look like 250 years from now? For The Just Trust's Justice & The Next 250 initiative, Khalil Cumberbatch, CCJ’s director of engagement and partnerships, shares his vision of accountability that extends beyond punishment.
CCJ welcomes Jonathan Wroblewski as a senior fellow! He brings a distinguished career in law and public service, including time as both a federal prosecutor and local public defender, to help the Council carry forward the work of our Task Force on Artificial Intelligence.
CCJ Senior Fellow Thaddeus Johnson spoke with @cnn.com about the growing use—and documented misuse—of automated license-plate reader systems, stating that while ALPRs can strengthen certain investigations, they're no shortcut to safer communities. Read more: www.cnn.com/2026/07/26/u...
Inside the growing police use and misuse of Flock’s license-plate reader cameras | CNN
The arrests of two Milwaukee Police officers have put the spotlight on the surveillance technology that can be misused and abused.
cnn.com
A report from the non-partisan Council on Criminal Justice shows most other categories of crime are also headed below pre-pandemic levels in major cities across the country Read more ⬇️ buff.ly/vbTVe8l
Homicide rates are falling in many cities across the U.S., dropping by 18 percent since the same period last year, and by the end of 2026 the murder rate could plummet to its lowest nationwide in more than a century, according to a new report.
U.S. homicides could fall to a historic low this year, report shows
Rates of other crimes, such as carjacking and burglary, are also plummeting. The reasons are not always simple, experts say.
washingtonpost.com
US on Track to Have Historically Low Number of Homicides in 2026, Report Says
US on Track to Have Historically Low Number of Homicides in 2026, Report Says
Data collected from 30 American cities showed an 18% decrease in the homicide rate from 2025 compared to the same period in 2026, translating to about 215 fewer homicides this year, according to a new report from the independent Council on Criminal Justice.
dlvr.it
The homicide rate was 18% lower in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025 across 30 major U.S. cities, according to a report out Thursday from the Council on Criminal Justice.
Homicide rates in the US are nearing a historic low
The homicide rate was 18% lower in the first half of 2026 compared to the first half of 2025 across 30 major U.S. cities, according to a report out Thursday from the Council on Criminal Justice.
scrippsnews.com
US murder rate hits lowest level in 125 years as violence plummets - except for 8 big cities
US murder rate hits lowest level in 125 years as violence plummets - except for 8 big cities
The national homicide rate plunged to a historic low in 2025 and has continued to fall so far this year – except in eight major US cities.
trib.al
The latest numbers from a sample of U.S. cities indicate continuing crime decreases that go beyond a reversion to pre-2020 norms.
The homicide rate has dropped to historic lows. Contrary to what politicians say, no one really knows why.
The latest numbers from a sample of U.S. cities indicate continuing crime decreases that go beyond a reversion to pre-2020 norms.
reason.com
OUT TODAY: A new CCJ report finds that crime rates in 36 large American cities continued to fall in the first half of 2026, with homicides down 18% from the same period in 2025. Explore the full analysis from co-authors Ernesto Lopez and Bobby Boxerman: counciloncj.org/crime-trends...
What safeguards are needed as immigration enforcement becomes increasingly intertwined with routine policing? Writing in @usatodayopinion.usatoday.com, CCJ Senior Fellow Thaddeus Johnson and Natasha Johnson share their perspective following fatal shootings by ICE agents in Houston and Maine.
USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 2w agoOpinion: Missing records makes misconduct harder to detect. That blind spot is widening just as the government removes other tools of accountability.
CCJ Women’s Justice Commission member & former director of the Missouri Department of Corrections Anne Precythe argues in Governing that accountability doesn’t always require incarceration. Reserving prison for the highest-risk women can cut costs and keep families together.
How Keeping More Women Out of Prison Pays Off
It costs more to imprison them, both for their incarceration and its impact on families and communities. We can hold them accountable for breaking the law while using prison more judiciously.
governing.com
Drawing on her time with DOJ's Office of Justice Programs, CCJ Senior Fellow Amy Solomon spoke with @nytimes.com on the role of nonprofits in reducing violent crime and the importance of building trust between police and communities. Read the story: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/h...
How Charities Fight Crime
The final entry in our series on the opposite of violence.
nytimes.com
How are prisons approaching rehabilitation for women? CCJ convened correctional leaders from 17 states to explore how they're tailoring programming to women's distinct needs and the barriers to delivering and evaluating that support. Read the report: counciloncj.org/rethinking-r...
Rethinking Rehabilitation for Women in Prison - Council on Criminal Justice
CCJ convened three virtual focus groups with correctional leaders to better understand how prison systems are approaching rehabilitation for women, focusing on behavioral health, reentry, and prison c...
counciloncj.org
What are the costs, benefits, and public safety tradeoffs of women’s incarceration? Watch yesterday’s conversation with experts Elias Diggins, Victoria Kuhn, and @johnkroman.bsky.social, moderated by CCJ Policy Director Stephanie Kennedy, here: counciloncj.org/event-record...
Event Recording: The Rising Cost of Women’s Incarceration and What It Means for Public Safety - Council on Criminal Justice
In this conversation, the Council on Criminal Justice Women's Justice Commission and a panel of experts discussed the costs, benefits, and tradeoffs of women's incarcarceration.
counciloncj.org
Less than 1⃣ hour left to register for today's webinar. We hope to see you there! Register below ⬇️
Council on Criminal Justice@counciloncj.org · last mo.What are the costs, benefits, and public safety tradeoffs of women’s incarceration? Join experts Elias Diggins, Victoria Kuhn, and @johnkroman.bsky.social for a discussion grounded in findings from new CCJ research, moderated by CCJ's Stephanie Kennedy. Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AsKgy4CUx...
Following a recent fatal shooting involving a federal officer in Memphis, CCJ Senior Fellow Thaddeus Johnson spoke with @npr.org about the challenges of large multi-agency federal task forces.
NPR@npr.org · 3w agoJonah Neal, 25, was struck by a Homeland Security Investigations agent in May. There have been at least four deadly shootings related to the task force. n.pr/4wIpIvR
“The groups and organizations who work on [community-based violence intervention and prevention] ... have had to cut services, have had to lay off staff; some of them have closed their doors altogether." CCJ Senior Fellow Amy Solomon spoke to @nytimes.com for a piece on recent federal funding cuts.
Trump Administration Guts Efforts to Prevent Gun Violence, Suppressing Reports
nytimes.com
⏰ Less than 1 week left to register! Join us next Tuesday from 12-1 ET for a discussion on the costs, benefits, and public safety tradeoffs of women's incarceration. Sign up at the link below. ⬇️
Council on Criminal Justice@counciloncj.org · last mo.What are the costs, benefits, and public safety tradeoffs of women’s incarceration? Join experts Elias Diggins, Victoria Kuhn, and @johnkroman.bsky.social for a discussion grounded in findings from new CCJ research, moderated by CCJ's Stephanie Kennedy. Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AsKgy4CUx...
Federal immigration spending is not just expanding federal enforcement. It's also creating powerful incentives for state and local police, sheriffs, and prosecutors to devote more time, personnel, and money to federal immigration priorities. What does that mean for public safety?
USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 4w agoOpinion: Public safety capacity at every level of government is being redirected toward immigration and away from strategies directly tied to preventing crime.
CCJ congratulates Doug Bond, president and CEO of the Amity Foundation, on his election as a new member.
Police & criminal justice agencies face urgent questions on adopting AI effectively and safely. @stateline.org covers the CCJ Task Force on AI's new user framework, built to help agencies evaluate, implement and oversee AI in the criminal justice system: counciloncj.org/assessing-ai...
Assessing AI for Criminal Justice: A User Decision Framework - Council on Criminal Justice
Criminal justice agencies and practitioners face urgent questions about how to effectively and safely adopt AI tools. This decision guide provides a detailed and structured pathway to help them evalua...
counciloncj.org
Stateline@stateline.org · last mo.Police departments are increasingly using AI to help write reports, analyze evidence and manage growing volumes of digital data. Stateline reporter Amanda Watford has the latest: https://stateline.org/2026/06/26/police-use-of-artificial-intelligence-grows-as-rules-lag-behind/
We are pleased to congratulate National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives president Renee Hall on her election as a CCJ member. Welcome!
What are the costs, benefits, and public safety tradeoffs of women’s incarceration? Join experts Elias Diggins, Victoria Kuhn, and @johnkroman.bsky.social for a discussion grounded in findings from new CCJ research, moderated by CCJ's Stephanie Kennedy. Register: events.zoom.us/ev/AsKgy4CUx...
“Incarceration for women is very expensive, and we are using this very expensive tool, prison, on what is, on average, a relatively low-risk group compared to men.” Policy Director Stephanie Kennedy spoke with @us.theguardian.com, highlighting new research for the CCJ Women’s Justice Commission.
Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · last mo.Research shows that reducing sentences for women could save tax dollars with virtually no increase in violent crime
As AI reshapes the justice landscape, how do we ensure its use remains grounded in rigorous research? At a webinar hosted by The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, CCJ Task Force on AI Dir. Jesse Rothman highlighted the important role data & evidence play in the group’s user decision framework.