34 criminal legal system reforms that can win in 2026

With the federal government abandoning proven public safety strategies and doubling down on punishment, the work of state policymakers and advocates to shrink the criminal legal system and make it fairer is even more important. This morning, the Prison Policy Initiative released its 2026 edition of Winnable Criminal Justice Reforms, a report designed to give state and local change-makers the background they need to emulate existing and effective reforms.

For each of the reforms in the report, we provide critical context about the existing problem, explain why change would be impactful, and highlight research, model solutions, and legislation to help advocates and lawmakers get started.

This year’s report includes 34 vital reform strategies, in eight categories:

• Expanding alternatives to criminal legal system responses to social problems
• Protecting the presumption of innocence so people receive a fair shot at justice
• Decreasing the length of prison sentences and providing pathways for all people to exit prison
• Treating people humanely during incarceration
• Treating people on community supervision fairly, and keeping them thriving in the community
• Setting people up to succeed when they exit prisons and jails
• Giving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people political representation and voice
• Reducing spending on the criminal legal system and increasing investment in communities

The list is not intended to be a comprehensive platform. Instead, we’ve curated it to offer straightforward solutions that do not require further investments in the carceral system. We particularly focused on reforms that would reduce the number of people needlessly confined in prisons and jails. Additionally, we selected reforms that have gained momentum in recent years, passing in multiple states.

We recognize that as we publish this guide, many advocates are working tirelessly not just to pass much-needed reforms, but to beat back coordinated attacks against prior victories. For that reason, we’ve also included some talking points to use to fight against these regressive policies that threaten to undo decades of work by advocates.

We sent our report to roughly 650 lawmakers, in all 50 states, from all political parties, who have shown a commitment to reducing the number of people behind bars in their state and making the criminal legal system more just and equitable. As they craft legislation for the upcoming legislative sessions, this list will provide them with actionable solutions to some of the most pressing challenges their states’ criminal legal systems face.

The full report is available at: https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/winnable2026.html.