Criminal justice reform is an umbrella term that covers all aspects of the criminal justice process, from how law enforcement polices our communities to how prisons house and rehabilitate the convicted. It seeks to address structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Criminal justice reform can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, and sentencing. Some of the key issues addressed by criminal justice reform include:

• Mass Incarceration: The United States incarcerates its citizens more than any other country, and mass incarceration disproportionately impacts the poor and people of color. Criminal justice reform seeks to end our misguided reliance on over-incarceration.

• Sentencing Guidelines: Sentencing guidelines in the U.S. criminal justice system are criticized for being both draconian and racially discriminatory, and they are cited as the main contributor to mass incarceration.

• Police Reform: Police reform describes the various proposals to change policing practices, including holding police officers accountable for their actions and changing policing practices in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

• Prison Reform: Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crimes.

Criminal justice reform is a core response to the demand for racial justice given voice in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. It is a rare area where Republicans and Democrats have worked together, and the federal government plays an outsize role in shaping criminal justice policy. Criminal justice reform is a crucial step towards making our criminal justice system more fair, cost-effective, and smarter, while enhancing the ability of law enforcement to keep our communities safe.