WASHINGTON – A new report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) reveals a violent side of America’s housing crisis: along with major financial strain caused by rising rents and inflation renters are far more likely to become victims of violence. Renters are three-times more likely to suffer aggravated assault, robbery, rape and sexual assault than Americans in owner-occupied housing. The disparity persists across income levels, racial and ethnic groups, and age, according to analyses of federal data released today by ASJ.

Study Reveals Strong Majority of Crime Survivors in NYC Support Significant Investments and Reforms that Will Help Close Rikers, Including Expanding Mental Health and Drug Treatment Expanding Violence Prevention Programs, and Speeding Up Trials

An article in Inside Philanthropy by Dawn Wolfe covers the Crime Survivors Speak March on Washington and the community of funders who helped support the event. Here’s an excerpt: The march, and preliminary events in California, Florida, and Michigan, were organized by Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ), a program of the national Alliance for Safety […]

Thousand head to Capitol for first-ever Crime Survivors Speak March on Washington September 24, as new survey finds shocking gap between billions spent on “tough-on-crime” policies and unmet needs of violent crime victims

Policies to allow violent crime victims time off without losing their employment are a lifeline for victims and families to find safety, access healing services, cooperate with law enforcement, and remain financially stable, ultimately breaking cycles of violent crime

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public safety advocates, victims of crime and their families applaud the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee for including access to funding for Trauma Recovery Centers (TRCs) in the appropriations bill approved yesterday. Access to federal funding for TRCs via the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant program would help states establish or expand the best practice model that provides wrap-around support for underserved victims of crime and their families post-victimization.  

A new report from the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) finds American workers lose 6.7 million days of work each year due to violent victimizations. More than 200,000 people miss work each year, and half of all people who miss work also lose pay because their absences are not covered by paid leave policies such as paid safe leave or sick leave. Half of U.S. states offer some form of safe leave protections, often implemented specifically to protect victims of gender-based violence, a group making up 37% of those who missed work due to violence. Using data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, the report finds new evidence for the need for broad eligibility for paid safe leave protections for victims of violent crimes.

Alliance for Safety and Justice today announced their support for The Safer Michigan Act, a package of bills recently introduced by a bipartisan group of state senators (SB 861-864), to incentivize evidence-based education and rehabilitation programs that would disrupt rather than perpetuate cycles of crime.

The Safer Michigan Act is sponsored by Senators Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor), Erika Geiss (D-Detroit), Roger Victory (R-Hudsonville) and Ed McBroom (R-Upper Peninsula). It supports vocational education to help prisoners get well-paying jobs in areas that support our public infrastructure like plumbing, electrical, and masonry. Similar programs have known to help returning prisoners positively contribute to the economy, including a 6.9% increase in the likelihood of employment.

PHILADELPHIA – With escalating gun-related crime across the state, and as Philadelphia’s youth in particular face rising violence, Pennsylvania will play a pivotal role in the 2024 Presidential election, as both a key swing state and the example that pundits hold up to confirm voters’ fears of crime. Against this backdrop, the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ) and Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ) today released Strengthening Healing and Safety: Policy Recommendations to Better Support Crime Victims in Pennsylvania. The comprehensive set of policy recommendations aim to prevent revictimization of vulnerable crime victims and communities and address urgent needs to proactively break cycles of community violence.

The Office for Victims of Crime today recognized individuals and organizations that demonstrate outstanding service in supporting victims. Among the honored awardees is Aswad Thomas, vice president of Alliance for Safety and Justice and national director of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ). Receiving the 2024 Survivor Voices Award, Aswad is a gun violence survivor turned victim advocate with more than a decade of experience championing for and defending victims’ rights, supporting crime survivors and family members of slain victims, conducting research to enhance services for victims and communities impacted by violence, and more.