Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) Partnership

Representing a diverse range of perspectives, the Task Force employs an evidenced-based approach and will evaluate more than two dozen of the most commonly proposed reforms focused on preventing police use of excessive force, reducing racial biases, increasing police accountability, and improving the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. The Task Force will steer policymakers toward measures that are backed by research and most likely to fulfill the promise of reform.

As part of our commitment to meaningful police reform and more equitable public safety, the Crime Lab is serving as the primary research partner for the Task Force, evaluating the empirical evidence that will guide the panel’s recommendations.

Informed by the Crime Lab’s research, the Task Force will assess reforms that address hiring and training, use of force, technology, militarization, and officer and agency accountability. It also will evaluate measures that would shift some current law enforcement responsibilities to social service agencies or community-led safety initiatives.

The Task Force includes the following activists, law enforcement leaders, civil rights advocates, scientists, and local community and political leaders who bring a range of relevant experience to this critical work:

• Art Acevedo, Chief, Houston Police Department; President, Major Cities Chiefs Association
• Roy L. Austin, Jr., Partner, Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, LLP; former White House domestic policy adviser
• Louis M. Dekmar, Chief, LaGrange (Ga.) Police Department; former President, International Association of Chiefs of Police
• Collette Flanagan, Founder, Mothers Against Police Brutality
• Walter Katz, Vice President of Criminal Justice, Arnold Ventures; former police oversight official, Los Angeles County and San Jose, Calif.
• Cynthia Lum, Professor, George Mason University, Department of Criminology, Law and Society; Director, Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy
• Tashante McCoy, Regional Manager and Founder, Crime Survivors for Safety & Justice/The OWL Movement
• DeRay Mckesson, Educator, Author and Co-Founder, Campaign Zero
• Michael Nutter, Former Mayor, City of Philadelphia; former President, U.S. Conference of Mayors
• Sean Smoot, Director and Chief Counsel, Police Benevolent and Protective Association of Illinois
• Rosie Rivera, Sheriff, Salt Lake County, Utah

Lead funding for the Task Force was provided by Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel. Mr. Griffin’s substantial contribution builds on his ongoing support for criminal justice reform grounded in data and experience. Additional support for the initiative comes from the Joyce Foundation and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.