2024
Annual Report
Five Years of Impact on Safety and Justice
Five years ago, the Council launched with a tiny team and a giant goal: use data and evidence to bridge partisan and ideological divides and advance progress on safety and justice. Despite the deep polarization afflicting our nation, CCJ surged forward with that mission in 2024, solidifying our role as a trusted source of information and expertise and an organization that authentically builds common ground toward a safer, more just America.
Since opening our doors, the Council has convened nine task forces and multiple research projects to wrestle with the most daunting criminal justice issues of the day, from racial disparities and the impact of COVID to long prison sentences, health and reentry, policing, and violent crime. Strategic policy roadmaps and analysis generated by these efforts are becoming vital tools for leaders in Washington, state capitols, and city halls across the country. One 2024 example: Nebraska enacted a law expanding alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for military veterans that was based on a framework developed by our Veterans Justice Commission. A dozen more states are now considering similar legislation. On another front, the commission worked with business leaders to craft a model corporate policy promoting the hiring of justice-involved veterans.
2024 also brought a critical set of recommendations from our Crime Trends Working Group for more timely, accurate, and complete crime data, including monthly publication of figures by the FBI. We launched a Women’s Justice Commission, chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in partnership with Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt, the latest bipartisan pair of leaders we’ve convened to tackle critical challenges and devise politically viable solutions.
CCJ’s Board of Directors meets in New York City.
In a campaign year marked by sharp debate over public safety, journalists, elected officials, and organizations across the political spectrum relied heavily on our crime trends data, leading to thousands of media references and reinforcing our transpartisan credibility. Overall since our founding, CCJ’s work has appeared in more than 30,000 stories in a wide array of national, local, and international outlets, and reporters routinely use Council research and experts to fact check claims.
Looking ahead, we’re eager to accelerate our newest initiative exploring the implications of artificial intelligence for criminal justice, building on a summertime convening of experts at Stanford Law School. The women’s commission will dig deep into its work developing evidence-based policies to address the unique challenges facing justice-involved women, and we’ll expand our crime trends portfolio to explore effective prevention strategies, public perceptions, and other pressing topics.
Reflecting on the past year, we’re mindful that our progress is not possible without your partnership. We move forward with gratitude, optimistic that CCJ’s impacts on safety and justice will proliferate over our second five years, and that we will contribute decisively to the larger endeavor of building trust in American institutions and in our democracy.
Adam Gelb
President & CEO
Diane Williams
Chair, Board of Directors
Timothy Head
Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Driving the National Conversation
CCJ has established itself as a trusted, go-to resource for policymakers, journalists, and advocates across the political spectrum, from the Biden-Harris White House to Fox News. Leaders and reporters rely heavily on CCJ data, research findings, and policy recommendations and turn to us frequently for unbiased analysis and commentary on pressing issues.
In 2024, the Council and its work were cited in more than 10,000 media stories, with coverage appearing multiple times in nearly every major national broadcast and print outlet, as well as regional, local, and specialty publications.
- The White House released a statement that directly referenced CCJ’s mid-year crime trends report, touting the drop in homicide and other violent crimes. So did Turning Point USA, the conservative activist group that had hosted President-elect Donald Trump; its piece focused on the continued rise in shoplifting.
- The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, Poynter, Snopes, and other leading media outlets consistently use CCJ reports and experts to verify claims about crime, including those in President Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address as well as statements made by the Trump-Vance and Harris-Walz campaigns.
- A diverse range of prominent media outlets routinely publish commentaries from Council and task force leaders, including Women’s Justice Commission Chair and former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in USA Today on the unique challenges faced by incarcerated women, Director of Strategic Partnerships Khalil Cumberbatch in Governing on the importance of executive pardons, and Centering Justice’s Marc Levin in Newsweek on bipartisan support for criminal justice reform.
Building Actionable Policy Roadmaps
In spring 2023, the Veterans Justice Commission produced a model policy framework, outlining a system of alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for veterans that complements existing veterans treatment courts and creates a continuum of sentencing options for men and women who have served our nation. The framework was adopted as model legislation (the Veterans Justice Act) by the American Legislative Exchange Council in the summer of 2023, and soon after, Nebraska became the first state to adopt it. Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB 253 on April 16, 2024 and similar measures are under discussion or consideration in more than a dozen other states.
In October, the commission released its third set of recommendations, urging business leaders to prioritize the hiring of veterans with criminal records and calling for a coordinated effort among business, government, and nonprofits to support their reentry. The commission worked with the Second Chance Business Coalition, Business Roundtable, Society for Human Resource Management, JPMorgan Chase, and other private sector experts to craft and promote a model corporate policy to boost hiring of veterans who have been involved in the justice system.
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel testifies in support of a Nebraska amendment to expand veterans' access to problem-solving courts. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
The Women’s Justice Commission launched in July, chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in partnership with Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt, who serves as senior adviser. The two-year initiative includes the deep expertise of 15 other commissioners who will document and raise awareness of the unique challenges facing women in the justice system and build consensus for evidence-based reforms that enhance safety, health, and justice. The commission convened in New York City for its first meeting in July to discuss unique pathways into the criminal justice system for women, and met again in August to focus on law enforcement.
In July, Women’s Justice Commission members gathered for their inaugural meeting in New York City.
In June, the Crime Trends Working Group released a set of findings and proposals to strengthen the nation’s crime data infrastructure and better equip policymakers with data essential to effectively address community violence and other crime. The recommendations proposed action in multiple areas by federal, state, and local agencies and called for increased appropriations to enable the Bureau of Justice Statistics to assume an expanded role in national crime data reporting. Among the proposals was a call for the federal government to assume the essential function of producing timely national crime data, and in October, the FBI announced it would soon begin publishing monthly reports.
A Washington Post editorial emphatically agreed with the Working Group’s findings and recommendations, noting that “the government should be able to update the public on crime at least as often as, say, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on inflation or unemployment — that is, monthly.” “Keeping citizens fully informed about crime is a public responsibility . . . It deserves public resources to match.”
Grounding Debates in Facts and Data
CCJ’s first crime trends report was published in July 2020, just as crime patterns started to shift in the wake of the COVID pandemic and killing of George Floyd. The report struck a deep well of demand for credible, real-time public safety data. The most recent Mid-Year 2024 Crime Trends report, released in July, was the thirteenth in the series of overall crime snapshots.
The ongoing press references to the report and requests for interviews with our team demonstrate CCJ’s deep authority and credibility with reporters, who rely heavily on CCJ findings and recommendations and turn to us frequently for expert commentary on what is—and isn’t—happening with crime, and why.
Council staff and partners have also taken closer looks at offenses generating significant public concern, producing publications on motor vehicle theft, carjacking, and shoplifting, as well as reports on juvenile offending, racial disparities in violent victimization, and other pressing topics.
Building on two reports in 2019 and 2022—which assessed national level trends in imprisonment disparities, differences in disparity by race and sex, and changes at key stages of the criminal justice process—CCJ published 15 new Pushing Toward Parity reports in April. These new reports assess imprisonment trends and the impact of sentencing reforms on disparity trends in 12 states, examine imprisonment and disparity trends among female populations, and explore challenges in measuring Hispanic disparities. The reports offer groundbreaking insights into how and why many disparities have narrowed over the past 20 years, pointing to the strategies that can drive the greatest impact in the years ahead.
At a community symposium on justice system disparity co-hosted by Georgia State University (GSU) and the Council on Criminal Justice, CCJ Senior Fellow and GSU Professor Thaddeus Johnson moderates a panel discussion on disparity and opportunity in Georgia.
Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young delivers keynote remarks during the symposium.
Southern Company CEO Chris Womack delivers remarks during the symposium.
In 2024, CCJ launched an initiative examining AI’s implications for safety and justice. A June convening at Stanford Law School brought together leading experts to discuss issues surrounding the effective and ethical deployment of AI in criminal justice. Following the publication of key findings from the convening, CCJ assembled an expert panel to explore how the criminal justice field can responsibly harness AI’s potential while proactively addressing risks and challenges.
Criminal justice and technology experts gather at Stanford Law School for a convening on the future of artificial intelligence in criminal justice.
Passed with large bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress in 2018, the First Step Act was designed to reduce reoffending among people leaving federal prisons. Four years later, the legislation became embroiled in presidential politics. In 2024, CCJ updated a series of earlier Council analyses that compare people released under the act with similarly situated people released before it took effect and examine the law’s impact on prison time served.
Fostering a Community for Collaboration
Membership
CCJ’s leadership boards and 306 elected Council members comprise a broad cross-section of the nation’s top leaders, experts, and innovators from law enforcement, corrections, courts, communities, advocacy, and academia, as well as formerly incarcerated people, crime victims and survivors, and others directly impacted by the justice system. CCJ members are routinely tapped to lead high-level initiatives, deliver keynote addresses, and serve in senior executive positions in federal, state, and local administrations. By engaging members in multiple collaborative activities over time, the Council builds increasingly potent pathways for the diffusion of our work and helps forge the lasting and trusting relationships that are essential to driving large-scale change.
Philanthropy Roundtable selected CCJ as one of six organizations “taking innovative approaches in the criminal justice space,” saying, “With a wide range of members, the organization redoubled efforts to bridge partisan divides and build common ground for policies rooted in facts, evidence and fundamental principles of justice.”
Throughout 2024, we convened members in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and other cities, and hosted a series of virtual member conversations on issues ranging from immigration and crime to the implications of artificial intelligence for crime and criminal justice. Members also gathered in New York City to honor the legacy of Laurie Robinson’s leadership in the criminal justice field. The founding chair of CCJ’s Board of Directors, Robinson is a trailblazer in the field and shaped policies and initiatives that promote effective approaches for public safety, fairness, and equity.
We continue to prioritize inclusion of crime victims and survivors, formerly incarcerated and directly impacted individuals, women, and LGBTQ+ people as organizational leaders, task force members, and vital contributors to our work. And we help build connections among our members through our video profile series, UpClose.
Founding Chair Laurie Robinson at a New York event honoring her leadership.
Members of CCJ's Board of Directors and Board of Trustees gather in New York City.
CCJ’s Centering Justice initiative, led by conservative analyst Marc Levin and progressive advocate Khalil A. Cumberbatch, highlights the power of bipartisan collaboration in strengthening public safety initiatives and promoting equality in the criminal justice system.
Centering Justice
As public safety and crime rose to the top of the public agenda this election year, Levin and Cumberbatch hosted a conversation with federal Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters on the First Step Act and convened panels of experts to discuss reentry and housing access, immigration and crime, and other timely topics.
The Path Ahead
Women's Justice Commission
The Women’s Justice Commission will kick off 2025 with a January convening in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Meetings will focus on pre-trial detention, diversion, and court processes and include a visit to Women in Recovery, an intensive outpatient alternative for eligible women facing long prison sentences. The commission plans to convene four additional times over the coming year to examine sentencing and conditions of confinement.
An 18-month project scheduled to launch in early 2025, the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Justice will bring together diverse experts to develop practical standards for the deployment of AI applications in criminal justice. The goal of the initiative is to produce clear guidance that jurisdictions can use to evaluate and implement AI tools in ways that maximize benefits and minimize harms.
Implications of AI for Crime and Criminal Justice
Veterans Justice Commission
In 2025 and beyond, the Veterans Justice Commission’s priority is an aggressive phase of outreach to policymakers and stakeholders aimed at adoption and implementation of the commission’s proposals to prevent veterans’ involvement with the criminal justice system. Through established channels with leaders in the field and other avenues, the Council will strategically distribute the commission’s research, findings, and recommendations to elected and appointed officials, business leaders, advocates, media, and other key stakeholders across the country at the federal, state, and local levels.
The Council will extend its leading work on crime trends in 2025, tracking patterns in priority types of crime and exploring the effectiveness of local prevention and intervention strategies. Convenings and publications will elevate the quality of crime reporting and help shape a more informed national dialog on crime and justice policy.
Crime Trends Working Group
Thank You, Funders!
CCJ deeply appreciates our institutional and individual donors. They make our progress and impact possible. Our major organizational investors in 2024 include:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Arnold Ventures
Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Bank of America
Craig Newmark Philanthropies
Ford Foundation
George Kaiser Family Foundation
Georgia Power Foundation
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation
The Just Trust
MacArthur Foundation
May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Smith
Ms. Foundation for Women
Microsoft
National Football League
The Navigation Fund
Open Philanthropy
Schusterman Family Philanthropies
Southern Company Foundation
Stand Together Trust
The Tow Foundation
Wilf Family Foundations
For media inquiries about this report, please contact: Brian Edsall at bedsall@counciloncj.org. For general inquiries, contact the Council at info@counciloncj.org.