Arnold Ventures Reacts to Department of Justice Cuts That Threaten Public Safety and Undermine Efforts to Reduce Crime

Washington, D.C. (April 25, 2025) – Juliene James, vice president of criminal justice policy at Arnold Ventures, provided the following statement in response to recent cuts to Department of Justice (DOJ) funding and other activities:

“Americans deserve a safe society that builds thriving communities while upholding people’s constitutional and civil rights. While public safety is primarily a state and local matter, the federal government plays a vital role. The DOJ has long supplemented local budgets to bolster law enforcement, spur innovation in the criminal justice system, support research and data collection on crime and victimization, and help state corrections agencies improve reentry outcomes and reduce recidivism.

“Cutting funding for these and other DOJ programs threatens public safety and could reverse recent successes in reducing crime in communities across the country. By slashing federal resources needed to develop, test, and monitor innovative solutions to pressing safety challenges, and to track important trends, the government will undermine President Trump’s stated goal of making the DOJ and the FBI ​‘the premier crime-fighting agencies on the face of the Earth.’

“Our criminal justice system is facing myriad issues, from understaffed and overcrowded prisons, to low clearance rates for many serious crimes, to high rates of recidivism. These complex problems require a coordinated and multifaceted response.”