WASHINGTON – Current criminal justice policies and practices undermine public safety and destabilize families by too often failing to address the unique pathways that lead women into the justice system in the first place, including trauma, economic hardship, and unmet behavioral health needs, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) Women’s Justice Commission said today.

In its first policy report, Stronger Families, Safer Communities: Improving Outcomes for Women at the Front End of the Justice System, the Commission called for four priority measures to stem the flow of women into the criminal justice system and improve success rates for women and their families:

• Prioritize alternatives to arrest, and connections to services, for women who do not pose a serious threat to public safety.
• Base pretrial detention decisions on public safety and flight risk.
• Expand responses to and consideration of women’s distinct circumstances at charging and sentencing.
• Prohibit all sexual contact between police officers and people in their control or custody.

“Understanding women’s histories and pathways into the justice system has important implications for assessing risk, deploying system resources, and tailoring effective diversion programs and correctional interventions,” the Commission said. “By better tailoring system responses for justice-involved women, states, local jurisdictions, and community organizations can prevent crime, strengthen families, improve health, cut taxpayer costs, and break cycles of victimization and incarceration.”

The Commission is chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and includes Oklahoma First Lady Sarah Stitt as senior adviser and more than a dozen other top criminal justice, legislative, and community leaders.

The report comes as new FBI data show that in 2024 women accounted for 27% of adult arrests, twice the share (14%) than in 1980. While women generally engage in crime and violence at lower rates than men, women’s share of violent offense arrests has steadily increased, rising from 11% in 1986 to 21% in 2024. In addition, between 2020 and 2023, women’s jail incarceration rates rose twice as much as men’s (33% vs 17%), and women’s imprisonment rate grew 9%, while the rate for men dropped slightly (less than 1%).

“Women are no less responsible for their actions than men, and like men, they should be held accountable when they break the law,” said Lynch. “As we learn more about what drives women to criminal behavior, we become better equipped to respond effectively and create pathways to more stable families and productive lives. Ultimately that is how we can better prevent future criminal behavior and interrupt cycles of crime and incarceration.”

“Law enforcement leaders, faith-based organizations, advocates, and others across the nation and across the political aisle can find common ground in pursuing solutions that hold people accountable for crimes they commit while addressing the factors that drive their behavior,” said Stitt. “This isn’t just about compassion. It’s about breaking generational cycles of crime and punishment, restoring families, and building safer, healthier communities.”

“Safer communities, stronger families, more efficient policies and practices that are grounded in evidence and human dignity—these are the shared values that helped establish common ground for this diverse Commission as they worked together to create this roadmap,” said Women’s Justice Commission Director Stephanie Akhter. “We hope the report provides clear, actionable steps for policymakers and community leaders to make immediate impact while underscoring the need for expanded data collection and research that can help inform long-term solutions.”

In addition to these proposals, the Women’s Justice Commission also today released a new report examining community-based responses to women in crisis. The report finds that most crisis response systems are not designed to meet the individual needs of women. To improve crisis intervention efforts for women, the authors recommend that policymakers, funders, and researchers prioritize strengthening data infrastructure, focusing research on women’s outcomes and public safety, and conducting longitudinal and cross-system studies.