Creating Systems That Can Improve Safety and Justice (and Why Piecemeal Change Won’t Work)

Abstract Criminal justice cannot be highly effective or cost-efficient because of its fragmented design and the lack of research on systems operations and impacts. Substantial improvement to public safety and justice requires a systems approach that involves multiple stakeholder groups. This approach includes creation of an agency responsible for oversight, monitoring, and evaluation of criminal justice. It also includes reliance on systems analysis and evaluation research. The latter constitutes the easier task; the former requires political will and economic investment.