Columbia Justice Lab

The Justice Lab at Columbia University combines original research, policy development, and community engagement to propel the project of justice reform. In our vision, justice depends on peaceful and healthy communities that help all their members to flourish in a climate of fairness and respect. We work for a community-centered justice, in which incarceration is no longer used as a solution to problems that are often rooted in poverty and racial inequality. The Justice Lab was founded in the fall of 2017 on the belief that justice policy should strengthen the bonds of family and community that are often threatened by poverty, crime, and punitive crime policy. Led by Bruce Western and Vincent Schiraldi, our team engages with scholars, policymakers, directly-impacted individuals, and students in projects related to community corrections, emerging adult justice, juvenile justice, reentry, mass incarceration, and solitary confinement.