Defining Violence

With just less than half the people in prison convicted of a violent crime, there is no way the U.S. will be able to lower its incarceration rate significantly without changing how the justice system treats violent crimes. Defining Violence surveys the current debate in state legislatures and Congress on criminal justice reform, noting where justice reform proposals have been mired down in debates over what constitutes a violent crime, how justice systems treat violent crimes, and how these debates have made it challenging to making lasting justice reform possible. To address this complicated issue, we need to rethink how the justice system responds to violent crimes. Click here to read Defining Violence and access other resources related to the report, such as summaries and our social media toolkit to join the #DefiningViolence conversation.