Urban Rural Action and Pennsylvania Prison Society are implementing a criminal justice reform program in Adams County and Philadelphia. "Consensus-Building for Incarceration Reduction: A Community Justice Program" (CBIR) brings together criminal justice reform advocates and community leaders (~15 from Adams County and ~15 from Philadelphia) for collective action on criminal justice. The program is funded by the Vera Institute of Justice.

Program Goals

1. Strengthen the influence, advocacy, and consensus-building capacity of a network of criminal justice reform advocates and community leaders
2. Increase familiarity with data on incarceration rates and jail conditions in Adams County and Philadelphia
3. Develop and implement advocacy strategies to reduce incarceration and improve jail conditions
4. Build relationships among participants through homestays, shared meals, and collaboration

Adams County, PA

• Population density: 197 people per square mile
• 89% white, 7% Hispanic, 2% black​
• Median age: 43
• President Trump won 66% of the vote in '16 in Adams County. ​​
• 75% increase in commitments to state prison between 2006 and 2015

Philadelphia

• Population density: 11,380 people per square mile
• 42% black, 37% white, 12% Hispanic
• Median age: 34
• President Trump won 15% of the vote in '16 in Philadelphia .
• Incarceration rates in Philadelphia County have declined significantly