City of Philadelphia commemorates completion of MacArthur Foundation Safety and Justice Challenge

The City of Philadelphia's Office of Public Safety (OPS) Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) recently held its final Implementation Team meeting for key stakeholders, celebrating the successful conclusion of its ten-year participation in the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC).

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Over this period, Philadelphia has achieved a significant reduction in its prison population, decreasing from 8,082 individuals in July 2015 to 3,436 people by July 2025—a reduction of nearly 58 percent. The SJC supports local cities and counties in addressing the misuse and overuse of jails through data-driven, equity-focused, and community-informed solutions aimed at reducing jail populations, eliminating ineffective and unjust practices, and addressing racial disparities.

"It has been my administration's great honor to participate in the MacArthur Foundation Security and Justice Challenge and to celebrate our national SJC cohort collectively decreasing our jail population by 58 percent," said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. "I believe that implementing evidence-based, community-informed solutions to tackle the issue of jail misuse and overuse is an effective way to enhance community safety by preventing the incarceration of Philadelphians who do not belong in jail, facilitating better reintegration of individuals into the community upon release, and ensuring that they stay out of jail."

Founded in 2015, the Safety and Justice Challenge unites a network of cities, counties, and states to demonstrate that it is possible to rethink local justice systems from the ground up. One of the central goals of the Safety and Justice Challenge is to reduce local jail populations safely.

In Philadelphia, key strategies included reducing the number of individuals in local jail custody who are on pretrial status.