How to Talk About Criminal Justice

For three years, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School and the FrameWorks Institute have collaborated on an extensive suite of multi-method research studies to document how Americans think about criminal justice and what might be done to advance public understanding and support for meaningful reforms. The result, funded by grants from the Ford and Rosenberg Foundations, is a new Multi-Media MessageMemo that offers evidence-based advice on how to reframe issues from sentencing policy to incarceration.

How to talk about race as a factor in differential policies, practices and outcomes, why criminal justice talks routinely go wrong, what conceptual problems are most important to address - these are explicitly addressed by the research findings. Listen in as people explain how the system works and watch as they use potent metaphors to redirect their thinking. Dig deeper into the six studies that have emerged from this comprehensive research effort. Working with leaders in the field, the Houston Institute and FrameWorks are now providing training to help groups reframe their work.