DC Justice Lab
Developing smarter safety solutions that are evidence-driven, community-rooted, and racially just. linktr.ee/dcjusticelab
06/12/2026
Join the DC Justice Lab and our partners from Open City Advocates, the School Justice Project, the Black Swann Academy, Critical Exposure and the T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project for a deep dive on their recommendations to increase youth safety and community safety in the District.
June 26th, 2026, Noon to 1:30 pm.
Register: bit.ly/YouthJusticeLunchAndLearn
06/12/2026
Missouri became the first state to adopt earned compliance credits in 2012.
The result:
Shorter supervision terms, lower costs, and no negative impact on public safety.
That matters because too many supervision systems are built around punishment instead of success. Earned compliance credits create incentives for people to stay compliant, move forward, and successfully complete supervision without unnecessary extensions that destabilize work, housing, and family life.
This is not a new or untested idea. It is a policy backed by evidence.
DC can do this, too.
This week, we’re talking about policies that have been implemented and shown success.
In 2020, DC became the first jurisdiction in the country to restore voting rights to people who are incarcerated. A year later, it happened again: DC held the first election in U.S. history where both the candidates and the electorate were incarcerated. Joel Castón became the first incarcerated person elected to public office in the District. He fulfilled his Advisory Neighborhood Commission duties from the inside, on Zoom, showing up for his constituents the way elected officials are supposed to.
Commissioners Leonard Bishop and Shameka Hayes followed, each continuing that legacy of representation. Now ANC Commissioner Harold Cunningham is carrying it forward, including testifying virtually at a DC Council hearing on the EASE Act. If passed, the EASE Act would allow incarcerated residents to do the same: speak directly to the Council that governs their lives, in real time, rather than submitting written testimony that may never be read aloud. Pass the EASE Act, and DC can continue to lead the way.
06/10/2026
DC Justice Lab is working to transform the District’s approach to public safety. We are inviting partners, businesses, and community leaders to be part of that work through sponsorship of the 2026 Movement Mixer. 🩷
The Movement Mixer brings together advocates, policymakers, attorneys, organizers, creatives, and community members from across DC and beyond for an evening centered on connection, conversation, and collective impact.
Your sponsorship directly supports DC Justice Lab’s ongoing advocacy, training, and research.
Sponsorship opportunities are now available at multiple levels, with benefits including event visibility, recognition during remarks, newsletter placement, co-branded communications, and more.
We’d love to partner with organizations and businesses committed to investing in meaningful change across DC.
📍 The Point DC
📅 Thursday, September 17, 2026
⏰ 6 PM to 9 PM
🩷 Learn more about sponsorship opportunities: https://dcjusticelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/MM26-Sponsorship-Packet.5.21.2026.pdf
🩷 Sponsor Movement Mixer 2026: https://dc-justice-lab.networkforgood.com/events/101633-2026-movement-mixer
06/09/2026
The June 16 DC election will shape the future of DC. Residents will choose a new Mayor, new Councilmembers, and a new Delegate at a moment when questions of public safety, local control, and democracy are front and center. It also comes at an unprecedented moment as we watch the federal government threaten community safety and local control in DC and democracy in general. That makes your vote even more important.
Make a plan to vote and make a plan to do so safely.
Beginning May 11, ballots were mailed to DC voters. Residents can vote by mail (must be postmarked by June 16) or use official drop boxes across the city. You can also vote early in person from June 8 through June 14, 8:30 AM–7:00 PM, and you can register on-site.
A few important reminders:
• You do not need an ID to vote in DC unless you are registering at the polls
• DC residents with felony convictions still have the right to vote (as do residents at the jail or in BOP custody)
• You can vote in the June 16 primary election if you are 17 and will be 18 by the general election
The right to vote belongs to the people of the District. Intimidation, interference, or efforts to discourage participation have no place in our democracy. If you experience or witness anything that feels like voter intimidation, call or text the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
Make your voice heard.
06/08/2026
Overdose prevention centers (also known as harm reduction centers) are health facilities.
These centers offer people who already use drugs a safe space, alongside medical care, mental health support, drug checking, and connections to treatment. They do not provide drugs. They do not encourage drug use.
, the nation’s first operating overdose prevention center that includes a safe consumption program, has shown that this model works.
• 2000+ overdose interventions since 2021
• 83% of participants accessed wraparound services
• Opioid use disorder treatment expanded nearly 7x in one year
• 100% of participants who requested treatment were connected to a provider
DC is in an opioid overdose crisis, and roughly 84% of fatal opioid overdoses have been among Black residents, concentrated in Wards 5, 7, and 8. DC’s drug supply is increasingly contaminated with deadly additives. People are dying not just from drug use, but from not knowing what is in the drugs they are using. Safe consumption programs and drug checking services directly address this.
Harm reduction is evidence-based and saves lives.
Thank you to for their leadership in elevating proven solutions to DC’s overdose crisis.
Learn more about behavioral health interventions that will advance public safety in the 2026 Public Safety Policy Agenda and ‘Our Neighborhoods, Our Safety,’ a report published by Georgetown Law’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety ().
Yesterday, we held our 2nd Annual Volunteer Appreciation Trivia Night, featuring questions all about DC and bringing together volunteers, staff, and supporters for an evening of fun, connection, and friendly competition. We believe in taking the time to acknowledge the individuals who support this work behind the scenes.
Our work toward a safer, freer DC is made possible by people who give their time - lawyers, advocates, researchers, and community members who contribute their skills and energy without compensation or recognition because they believe in the work.
This work is collective, and so is the responsibility to sustain it.
Thank you to all of our volunteers for the time, expertise, and commitment you bring to this work.
Watch highlights from our Volunteer Appreciation event.
DC Justice Lab was built on the belief that DC deserved more than fear-driven public safety policies, overpolicing, and systems that excluded the voices of the people most impacted.
Since then, with the steadfast support of loyal people, this work has helped push forward new conversations, new policies, and new possibilities across the District. From policing and incarceration to reparations, record relief, civic engagement, and community-rooted approaches to safety, we’ve been committed to advancing justice in our community.
This Impact Report reflects years of research, organizing, advocacy, coalition building, public education, and policy work rooted in one core idea: the people closest to harm should not be left out of the conversations shaping public safety in DC.
None of this work happened alone.
Every investment in DC Justice Lab — every grant, donation, partnership, collaboration, testimony, volunteer hour, and shared resource — has been an investment in safer solutions grounded in evidence, accountability, racial equity, and community.
To everyone who supported, funded, partnered with, challenged, amplified, and believed in this work: thank you.
We invite you to flip through the report and reflect on what has been built together — and the work still ahead.
Read the full Impact Report of DCJL’s First Five years!
🔗https://dcjusticelab.org/our-impact/
A letter from our CEO on DC Justice Lab's 6th Anniversary...
Dear DC Justice Lab Team & Board,
Happy six years!
This week, we celebrate six years of DC Justice Lab.
I feel incredibly honored to celebrate this milestone alongside our team and board. What began as a bold vision has grown into a trusted force for research, advocacy, evidence-driven and community-centered policy solutions, and narrative change.
At our core is a simple belief: DC's Black residents deserve better. Better policies. Better investments. Better outcomes. And for the last six years, the DCJL team and board have worked tirelessly to turn that belief into reality.
Each day, our team advances this mission with a drive and commitment that I deeply admire. Your skills, experiences, ideas, and relentlessness are what make this organization one that will stand the test of time. And thanks to our board's guidance and stewardship, DC Justice Lab is positioned for continued growth, impact, and sustainability.
This year, our team and board have navigated political shifts, moments of local and national reckoning, and the very real challenges that come with building something bold and values-driven. Through it all, you have continued to lead with courage, integrity, and purpose.
Thank you for doing this necessary heart work.
To our staff, board, partners, funders, and community members: thank you for believing in a safer, freer, and more equitable DC—and for helping us build it together.
Here's to six years of impact and the work ahead.
With gratitude,
Clinique 🩷
06/01/2026
This week, we celebrate 6 years of DC Justice Lab.
For six years, we have worked to transform the District's approach to public safety through solutions that are evidence-driven, community-rooted, and racially just. We have researched, organized, advocated, and partnered with communities to advance a vision of a safer, freer, and more equal DC.
Our work is grounded in the belief that sustainable change must be shaped by those most impacted and we must continue reimagining systems that have failed far too many for far too long.
To our staff, board, partners, funders, advocates, and community members—thank you for being part of this journey. We are proud of what we've built together and energized for the work ahead. 💖
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