Safety and Justice Challenge

The Safety and Justice Challenge is providing support to local leaders from across the country who are working to safely reduce overincarceration in jails, more effectively use taxpayer resources and protect public safety.

Thirty-four counties, four cities and two states were selected through a competitive process to receive financial and technical support in their efforts to rethink justice systems and implement data-driven strategies to safely reduce jail populations. These efforts are part of an initial five-year, $100-million investment by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

County officials are critical stakeholders in efforts to improve local justice systems as counties run 91 percent of jails with nearly 11 million people admitted every year. Counties invest close to $80 billion annually in the criminal justice system, including $33 billion in county law enforcement activities, $19 billion in courts and legal services and $26 billion in correctional facilities. The county justice system is also part of a larger community context that interacts with justice-involved individuals. Health care centers, hospitals, emergency rooms, behavioral health providers, schools and community colleges and housing assistance are examples of the community-based resources accessed by individuals prior to, during or after their justice system involvement—counties invest more than $140 billion annually in these types of health and human services.

NACo is a strategic ally in the Safety and Justice Challenge, providing county leaders across the country with information about successes and lessons learned through Challenge efforts and supporting these leaders through learning opportunities such as webinars, publications, a monthly newsletter, connections to experts, conferences and peer-to-peer exchanges.