Council on Criminal Justice

The Council on Criminal Justice (the Council) is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to advance understanding of the criminal justice policy choices facing the nation and build consensus for solutions that enhance safety and justice for all. This grant supports the Council's launch of a Violent Crime Working Group to address the most critical, topical, and challenging issues concerning the current drivers of violent crime and effective responses. Findings and recommendations from the Working Group will provide timely and practical guidance to local leaders and practitioners seeking to respond appropriately to increases in violence.

Launched in July 2019, the Council on Criminal Justice (the Council) is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to advance understanding of the criminal justice policy choices facing the nation and build consensus for solutions that enhance safety and justice for all. Based loosely on the Council on Foreign Relations, the Council harnesses the experience and vision of the nation’s top experts, innovators, and influencers, serving as an incubator of policy and a catalyst for progress based on facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice. This award provides general operating support to enable the Council to continue its vital work, advancing the Safety and Justice Challenge goal of changing the way America thinks about and uses jails while also fulfilling its overall mission to establish a fair, equitable, and effective criminal justice system as essential to democracy and a core measure of our nation’s well-being.

Launched in July 2019, the Council on Criminal Justice (the Council) is an independent, nonpartisan organization that works to advance understanding of the criminal justice policy choices facing the nation and build consensus for solutions that enhance safety and justice for all. Based loosely on the Council on Foreign Relations, the Council harnesses the experience and vision of the nation’s top experts, innovators, and influencers, serving as an incubator of policy and a catalyst for progress based on facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice. This award enables the Council to establish and oversee a national commission on criminal justice system responses to COVID-19. The commission will assess the impact of COVID-19 on the criminal justice system and related service providers, criminal justice populations, and crime and violence; develop priority prevention strategies and tactics to minimize the impact of a resurgence of COVID-19 and future pandemics on the proper functioning of the criminal justice system; and establish a priority agenda for policy, practice and research based on key lessons learned.