SJC Exchange Library

Was the U.S. arrest rate higher in 1980 or 2020?
Has the share of people in state prison for violent crimes increased or decreased over the last several decades?
How has the number of adults on parole and probation changed since the turn of the century, and what's the breakdown by race and sex?

You could dig up the data, do the math, and find the answers to these questions, but we've done the work for you. The Footprint: Tracking the Size of America's Criminal Justice System from the Council on Criminal Justice provides ready access to a collection of 40 interactive charts that trace decades-long changes in crime and victimization, arrests, incarceration, and community supervision.

It's designed to serve as a one-stop shop that puts current criminal justice levels in historical context. For each of 40 trends, The Footprint presents calculations of the percentage changes in raw numbers and per capita rates from the earliest year reliable data became available to peak years, and from the peak years to the most current years.

Please let us know if you have feedback or suggestions.

Adam