In an effort to combat the growing epidemic of prescription drug and heroin abuse, the FBI and DEA have released "Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict," a documentary aimed at educating students and young adults about the dangers of addiction.

In September, the Brennan Center analyzed available crime data from the nation's 30 largest cities, estimating that these cities would see a decline in crime and murder in 2018. Our report, Crime and Murder in 2018: A Preliminary Analysis, concluded that crime and murder in 2018 are again declining nationwide, continuing the historic downward trend.

People who are leaving incarceration face a significantly higher risk of relapse, overdose, and overdose-related death than people in the general public. Because of these odds, reentry is a critical time to provide rapid access to pre- and post-release treatment as well as informed supervision to people who have opioid addictions.

By Joe Russo, George B. Drake, John S. Shaffer, Brian A. Jackson

The American criminal justice system’s gradual realization that too many people are in jail needlessly just got a large, visible boost from the city of Philadelphia. The city announced last week that it would close its notorious 91-year-old House of Correction jail because reforms begun two years ago have dropped the city’s jail population by 33 percent, without causing any increase in crime or chaos.

NPR Audio - 23:55

In October of 2017, Ada County was awarded a grant from the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge.

The $1 million grant will allow Ada County's courts to look at productive approaches to criminal justice that minimize levels of incarceration and recidivism. We (Boise State Public Radio) speak with an Ada County official about looking at criminal justice differently.

Soundcloud Audio - 4:35 minutes

This year (2018), Oklahoma became the nation’s top incarcerator - a title that formerly belonged to Louisiana. But officials in the Bayou State said it reduced its prison population by 7.6 percent in less than a year by passing a sweeping package of reforms.

By Ruth Delaney, Ram Subramanian, Alison Shames, Nicholas Turner

YouTube Video - 4:18 minutes

By The Federalist Society

The United States has five percent of the world’s population but twenty-five percent of the world’s prison population. Reformers argue that these numbers reflect our country’s growing incarceration problem, while other experts point to the drastic reduction in violent crime over the past three decades as proof that tough on crime tactics work.

By Oliver Hinds and Jack Norton

Jail Expansion as Prison Reform in Indiana