Criminal Justice
Overview
It should not, at this point in United States history, surprise anyone to hear that there are drastic racial disparities in enforcement of laws, judiciary proceedings and treatment within and beyond the criminal justice system. The resources in this section document when and where many of these inequities originate. Several resources also provide concrete strategies for affecting change (an examination of best practices aimed at interrupting the so-called “school to prison pipeline”, for example). In thinking about this topic for racial equity work, please also look at the sections in this site on the history of racism and on cultural racism. These sections include information about ways in which the criminal justice system continues to mirror a long-standing set of policies and laws that reflect bias; i.e., they are based on a viewpoint that some racial/ethnic groups are “of a criminal nature” and need to be left to civilize themselves, and that others are “redeemable” and worthy of investment, in terms of education, housing, health, etc. A deep understanding of the roots of the United States’ current highly racialized and inequitable criminal justice system can clarify new ways of imagining a more equitable one, and thus, goals and opportunities for change.
Key sites
- The Justice Mapping Center Web site
- The Sentencing Project
- The House I Live In
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
- Equal Justice Society
- Equal Justice Initiative
- National Police Violence Map
- National Initiative for Building Community Trust and Justice
- Campaign Zero
- Criminal Justice Initiative
- Transforming the System
- https://www.massfreedom.org
- Organizations Addressing Police Accountability and Racial Justice
- The Bail Project
- Project Nia
Research
- Criminal Injustice System Fact Sheets
- Race, Crime, and Punishment: Breaking the Connection in America
- Tipping Point: Maryland's Overuse Of Incarceration And The Impact On Public Safety
- Just Kids: Baltimore's Youth in the Adult Criminal Justice System
- America's Invisible Children Latino Youth And The Failure Of Justice
- Still Haven't Shut Off the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Evaluating the Impact of Florida's New Zero-Tolerance Law
- ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws and Trying to Prevent the Next Trayvon Martin
- Race, Rehabilitation, and the Private Prison Industry
- The Criminal Injustice Series
- #TheRealCrime
- The State of Our Communities: Understanding Mass Incarceration and Migrant Detention
- War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing
- Itemizing Atrocity
- Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies
- An Overview of Public Opinion and Discourse on Criminal Justice Issues
- Deadly Force, in Black and White
- Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department
- Use of Force Policy Review
- Who Pays? The True Cost of Incarceration on Families
- Mass Incarceration and Children’s Outcomes
- The $746 Million a Year School-to-Prison Pipeline: The Ineffective, Discriminatory, and Costly Process of Criminalizing New York City Students
- Segregation Now
- Selling of Our Freedom: How Insurance Corporations have Taken Over Our Bail System
- Chokehold: A four part Guardian series on policing black men and women in America
- Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety and Security in our Communities
- John Legend Explains How Cash Bail Traps People of Color
- Police Brutality Bonds: How Wall Street Profits from Police Violence
- 2019 KIDS COUNT Data Book
- The State of Police Reform
- Vision for Justice 2020 and Beyond: A New Paradigm for Public Safety
- The answer to police violence is not 'reform'. It's defunding. Here's why
Practices
- Listening Sessions Report: A Community and Police Partnership to Eliminate Racial Profiling
- FROM REPORT CARD TO CRIMINAL RECORD: The Impact of Policing Oakland Youth
- Mapping The Schoolhouse To Jailhouse Track Action Kit
- No Turning Back: Promising Approaches to Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities Affecting Youth of Color in the Justice System
- A Plan Of Action For A Safer Memphis Community: Latinos, The Community and Police Relations
- Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System: A Manual for Practitioners and Policymakers
- Introduction to the Prison Industrial Complex Workshop
- Prison Activist Resource Center
- The U.S. v. Trayvon Martin: How the System Worked
- BYP100 Justice for Trayvon Toolkit
- Police Brutality Toolkit
- Fighting Police Abuse: A Community Action Manual
- Beyond Confrontation: Community-Centered Policing Tools
- Teaching "the New Jim Crow"
- Breaking the School to Prison Pipeline: The Crisis Affecting Rochester's Students and What We Can Do
- Incorporating Racial Equity into Criminal Justice Reform
- Power In Partnerships: Building Connections at the Intersections of Racial Justice & LGBTQ Movements
- Talking About Policing Issues Focus: Border Communities
- As We #SayHerName, 7 Policy Paths to Stop Police Violence Against Black Girls and Women
- We Too Belong: Resource Guide of Inclusive Practices in Immigration and Incarceration Law & Policy
- Campaign Zero Federal Policy Agenda
- Reflections on Policing: Organizers in Five Communities Speak Out
- Home with a Purpose: History of the Safe Return Project
- Transformative Bail Reform: A Popular Education Curriculum
- Broken Windows Broken People
- We Came to Learn: A Call to Action for Police-Free Schools - Report and toolkit
- New Era of Public Safety: An Advocacy Toolkit for Fair, Safe, and Effective Community Policing
- One Fairfax: A Brief History of a County-Wide Plan to Advance Equity and Opportunity
- Democracy Rising: The End of Florida’s History of Felony Disenfranchisement and Launch of a New Age
- Transformative Justice: A Curriculum Guide
- Care First, Jails Last: Health and Racial Justice Strategies for Safer Communities
- The Abolitionist Toolkit
