Pew's Public Safety Performance Project (PSPP) works with states to advance data-driven, fiscally sound policies and practices in the criminal and juvenile justice systems that protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and control corrections costs.
Why Public Safety Policy Matters
America's prison population skyrocketed over the past few decades, largely as a result of state laws and policies that placed more offenders behind bars and kept them there longer. But proven strategies are available that offer a better public safety return on taxpayer dollars. PSPP and our partners have worked directly with more than a dozen states to help them develop research-based sentencing and corrections policies and practices that slow the growth of prison costs while reducing reoffense rates, and keeping communities safer.
How We Conduct Our Work
The project supports efforts in select states that want better results from their sentencing and corrections systems. Along with partners, we diagnose the factors driving prison growth in those states and provide policy audits to identify options for reform, drawing on solid research, promising approaches, and best practices in other states. The project also helps state officials, practitioners, and others across the country share state-of-the-art knowledge and ideas through policy forums; public opinion surveys; multi-state meetings; national, regional, and state-level convenings; and online information about what works. Read our FAQ.
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The LATEST from the Project
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- Press Release
- Public Safety Performance Project
Pew Praises State Leaders for Justice Reinvestment Bill
The Pew Center on the States released the following statement today regarding Governor Tom Corbett’s signing of House Bill 135. The bill is the second half of the Justice Reinvestment reform package that was enacted through Senate Bill 100 in June (now “Act 122”) to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable and control corrections costs in Pennsylvania.
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August 31, 2012
Public Safety Performance Project: Frequently Asked Questions
To learn more about the Public Safety Performance Project, read our 2012 FAQ.
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August 22, 2012
Governing Magazine: The Power of Incentives for Performance
Corrections is one area in which a handful of states and their local governments are seeing big improvements in results—and saving millions in the process—through a novel funding approach.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Positive Results Coming From HB463
The Times Tribune: Changes in the way some criminal offenders are sentenced, incarcerated and paroled have already saved the state money and most of the people affected—prosecutors, defense attorneys, county governments—say the new law is working well.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Editorial: Florida Must Get Smart with Prisons
Florida has taken "lock 'em up and throw away the key" to an unaffordable extreme, wasting money without providing more security. The state has been on a prison building binge in recent years while cutting state support to higher education.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Gov. Deal to Reform Commission: Look at All Aspects of Juvenile Justice
Gov. Nathan Deal urged the judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and legislators serving on a criminal-justice reform commission Monday to consider every part of the juvenile justice system for possible overhaul. I want to charge you to look at that from the inception, and you will have the assistance of state officials," he said.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Rising Cost of Incarceration Alarms South Dakota Officials
A South Dakota committee will examine rising prison costs and the state’s exceptionally high lockup rate in an effort to reform the criminal justice system and save money.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Gov. Deal Wants Review of Juvenile Justice System
Gov. Nathan Deal urged judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and legislators serving on a criminal-justice reform commission Monday to consider every part of the juvenile justice system for overhaul.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Panel Begins Work on Slowing Prison Growth
Gov. Nathan Deal's criminal justice reform council on Monday began its work to find money-saving ways to sentence and manage the state's criminal population.
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
After 2 Years of Declines, Philadelphia Prison Populaton Rises
Philadelphia's prison population is on the rise again. The Pew Chartiable Trusts Philadelphia Research Initiative reported Thursday that 8,732 people were behind bars in June, an 8.5 percent increase from the same point last year.
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