Corrections and Public Safety

The size and cost of America’s prison system has skyrocketed during the last few decades, largely as a result of laws and policies that put more offenders behind bars and keep them there longer.  Yet recidivism rates remain stubbornly high, and crime still is a major public concern.

State policy makers across the nation are asking whether soaring prison budgets are the best path to public safety.  Increasingly, they are finding the answer is “No.”

Launched in 2006 as an operating project of the Pew Center on the States, the Public Safety Performance Project helps states advance fiscally sound, data-driven sentencing and corrections policies and practices that protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and control costs.  The Project currently collaborates with the Pew Center on the States and five external partners to provide expert, nonpartisan information and assistance to 13 states that want a better return on their public safety investments. 

Our Challenge

Americans deserve criminal justice policies that keep them safe. They want serious, violent, and chronic criminals put in prison. At the same time, a majority of Americans support cost-effective strategies for dealing with offenders who pose less risk to the community.

To meet both of those mandates, we seek to help states advance sound sentencing and corrections policies and practices that protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and control corrections spending.

Our Approach

States have begun to take on the challenge, and the Public Safety Performance Project can help. Rather than engage in the paralyzing debate between punishment and rehabilitation, the Project pursues three non-ideological, nonpartisan objectives:

1. To help states collect and analyze data on who is admitted to their prisons, how long they stay, who returns, and the implications of these practices for public safety and state budgets
2. To help states understand how their existing sentencing, release, and community supervision policies, practices, and outcomes compare with those of other states
3. To encourage states to use the best research available to advance reforms that will reduce crime and recidivism and deliver a solid return on taxpayers’ investments

Our Activities

The Project and its partners lead a range of activities at the state and national level:

• Promising Practices: The Project is synthesizing information about effective policies and practices, making the strongest research available and easily accessible to policy makers and practitioners across the country through an online database, periodic reports and policy briefs. The Project also identifies particular challenges and approaches and tracks key developments across states.
• Expert Assistance for States: Select states interested in exploring change receive tailored, in-depth assistance and resources from highly respected, nonpartisan experts. Participating states receive a data-driven analysis of their sentencing and corrections systems, plus a policy audit to identify a range of options, drawing on promising approaches and practices in other states facing similar challenges.
• Encouraging Cross-State Learning and Collaboration: The Project helps state officials, practitioners, researchers, and others share knowledge and ideas through policy forums, multi-state meetings and national, regional and state-level convenings.
• Raising Awareness: The Project helps policy makers and the public understand the need, and widespread support, for change through media outreach and education, broad dissemination of information, public opinion assessments and efforts to highlight innovations among states.

Our Partners

The Project works with the Pew Center on the States and five national partners, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, the National Center for State Courts, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Governors Association and the Vera Institute of Justice, to provide expert, nonpartisan information and assistance to states. The Project also collaborates with selected governmental, nonprofit and academic partners in the states.