Support the ACLU: Reforming the Criminal Justice System

The ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project focuses on the front end of the criminal legal system—from policing to sentencing—to end excessively harsh policies that drive mass incarceration, over-criminalization, and racial injustice. We focus on reforming police practices, ending cash bail, reining in the power of prosecutors, and ensuring adequate public defense systems.

Our major areas of work include:

A New Vision for Police Reform

The ACLU recognizes that police violence cannot be effectively addressed without completely reimagining the role of police: a significant reduction in the role, responsibilities, and presence of police in the everyday lives of communities that are heavily policed.

For decades, the ACLU has worked to implement transparency, accountability, training, and other procedural reforms to reduce police violence in Black and Brown communities, in addition to pushing for decriminalization that would take away arresting authority from police. To refresh and align our work with the needs of local communities, over a year ago, we began a thorough internal review of our policing reform agenda. We met with community leaders and activists in over 20 cities to ensure that our work responds directly to the needs of the communities we serve.

The time is ripe for a movement to divest from police, end police violence, and sync this work with decarceration work.

Ending Wealth-Based Money Bail

On any given day, 462,000 people who have not been convicted of any crime are held in local jails for days, weeks, months, or even years awaiting a trial—causing devastating consequences—all because they can’t afford bail. Through cutting-edge litigation, we fight to reduce the number of people held in jail before their trial so they can be at home, working and taking care of their families. At present we are litigating 13 lawsuits challenging money bail. We are also taking a leadership role in constructively opposing the use of algorithm-based pretrial risk assessments, which we believe often reinforce racial biases.

Reining in Prosecutors

Prosecutors are a major driver of mass incarceration, wielding almost unlimited power to push for harsh punishment. We aim to narrow that power through innovative litigation against prosecutors, as well as nonpartisan electoral work around district attorney races.

Fighting for Robust Public Defense

We are fighting to create or improve public defense systems to ensure quality representation for all defendants, regardless of income, race, or social status.

To learn more about the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, please visit our website: https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform

Thank you for your continued support.