An analysis by The Appeal this week found that as many as 28,000 people were incarcerated in jails in mandatory flood zones leading up to Hurricane Milton's landfall, with many of those facilities refusing to evacuate. Just last week, 2,190 people were evacuated from five North Carolina prisons following Hurricane Helene. The evacuations came amid reports that people incarcerated at the facilities were locked in their cells with standing water and feces for days as a result of electrical and water service disruptions following the storm.

Justice Action Network (JAN) Executive Director Lauren Krisai today joined Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha, a bipartisan pairing of lawmakers, and a representative from the Minnesota County Attorney’s Association for a press conference at the State Capitol to unveil a report detailing how bipartisan reform legislation enacted in 2021 has driven a significant reduction in civil asset forfeiture cases in Minnesota. JAN played a key role in the drafting and passage of the 2021 compromise legislation. 

The FBI's 2023 report shows a 11.6% drop in murder rates, marking the largest one-year decline ever recorded, with over 2,500 fewer victims compared to 2022. Additionally, the violent crime rate has dipped to its lowest levels since the early 1970s, with 363.8 offenses per 100,000 people, showcasing a significant decline from the peaks of the 1990's. While property crime remains stable overall, an ongoing trend in auto theft highlights ongoing opportunities for reform that addresses crime with data in mind.

It’s been one year since the passage of historic pretrial reform in Illinois, and since then, the state has shown that reform can be effective without compromising safety or court compliance. Illinois’ groundbreaking Pretrial Fairness Act slashed jail populations by 14% in Cook County (Chicago) and up to 25% in rural areas, marking a seismic shift in the state’s criminal justice system. The elimination of cash bail saved $6.7 million in avoided bond costs, while failure-to-appear rates and crime levels have held steady, dispelling fears of public safety risks.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics released its annual National Crime Victimization Survey yesterday, which estimates violent crime victimizations and rates, and violent crimes reported and not reported to police. According to the survey, violent crime declined slightly in 2023. On his substack today, Jeff Asher delves deeper into the report.