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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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Florida Tops 25-state Pew Study
Florida led 35 states in a study issued Wednesday with a whopping 166 percent increase in the estimated average time that released prisoners spent behind bars over a 19-year span. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Florida Leads in Time Prisoners Spend Behind Bars: Study
Florida led 35 states in a study issued Wednesday with a whopping 166 percent increase in the estimated average time that released prisoners spent behind bars over a 19-year span. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Pew Study: Florida Led the Way in Beefing up Prison-Terms Since 1990
Thanks to its gung-ho approach to lengthening jail time, Florida led the charge in beefing up prison sentences during the past two decades at a taxpayer cost of more than $1 billion a year, according to a new study by the Pew Center on the States. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
State Could Save Millions on Prison System, Report Says
Pennsylvania could save tens of millions of dollars a year by keeping low-level offenders out of the prison system and instead reserving state prison beds for criminals convicted of the most serious crimes and serving longer terms, consultants said in a report released today. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Probation Violations Will Result in 'Swift and Certain' Penalties
Officials say a new Department of Corrections system should help offenders on probation be more successful and will save money. The system uses "swift and certain" sanctions for those who violate terms of their probation, meaning immediate but short trips to jail.
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May 16, 2012
Editorial: Reforming Public Safety
Governor John Kitzhaber reappointed his Oregon Commission on Public Safety, which last year recommended reforming the state’s sentencing laws and increasing spending to bolster prevention and drive down recidivism. more
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- Featured Collection
- Public Safety Performance Project
Oregon Expands Public Safety Reform Efforts
Governor John Kitzhaber signed an executive order today calling for a commission to make policy recommendations in 2013 that will improve public safety and cut corrections costs. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Factions Unite Over Prison Reforms in Pennsylvania
Factions from across the political specturm are coming together to present evidence-based changes to the Pennsylvania corrections system that will reduce prison populations and costs without jeopardizing public safety.
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- Press Release
- Public Safety Performance Project
Oregonians Support Public Safety Reform
Governor Kitzhaber today called for sentencing and corrections changes to improve the effectiveness of public safety programs and reduce costs for taxpayers. more
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- Media Coverage
- Public Safety Performance Project
Kitzhaber Opens Door to Criminal Justice Reform
Gov. Kitzhaber has expanded Oregon’s Commission on Public Safety so it can take a deeper look at how to reduce costs in the Criminal Justice system, while at the same time improving public safety.
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