Giving Compass' Take:

• Open Philanthropy Project lays out opportunities for philanthropists to make an impact on criminal justice reform. 

• What role can you play in advancing criminal justice reform? Which of these approaches best suits your goals? 

• Find out how the ACLU is working to reduce incarceration rates in New Jersey. 

The United States incarcerates a larger proportion of its residents than almost any other country in the world and still has the highest level of criminal homicide in the developed world.

Incarceration has large fiscal costs. We believe that it also has large human and economic costs. Community corrections (such as probation and parole), which are one of the main alternatives to incarceration, may also need improvement, as evidenced by the 40% revocation rate for persons on probation.

Proposals for criminal justice reform can broadly be divided into two categories. Front-end reforms affect individuals at their first point of contact with the criminal justice system. Back-end reforms affect individuals after they have already entered the criminal justice system.

Strategies to promote these reforms include policy research, legislative advocacy, technical assistance to policymakers or practitioners, litigation, communication and public education, direct services, and pilot projects.

Read the full article about criminal justice reform at Open Philanthropy Project.