A Little Bit about Our History

Fifteen years ago the Justice Policy Institute was founded as part of the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) by the current Commissioner of the New York Department of Probation, Vincent N. Schiraldi. CJCJ, which was also founded by Mr. Schiraldi, is a private, non-profit criminal/juvenile justice agency based in San Francisco dedicated to reducing society’s reliance on imprisonment as a solution to social problems. At the time, we were one of the only organizations that promoted criminal justice reform from a social justice, and not just an economic policy and research, perspective. With just two people working in an office row house in the Anacostia community in Washington, DC across from the famous “Big Chair,” JPI became its own 501 (c)(3) nonprofit in 2003. Our ground-breaking research has always analyzed reforms state-wide and nationally, providing an edgy, trust-worthy source for application, study and implementation. 

JPI Today
Today, JPI is a team of nine staff and seven board members committed to reducing the use of incarceration through policies that improve the well-being of all people and all communities in the U.S. Join us on December 13th, to learn more about our upcoming projects in 2013, and preview our soon to be released retrospective work: Incarceration Generation.

Thank you for being a part of the JPI community and helping to make this organization a success. We hope to see you there!