Criminal Justice

2024 Solutions Spotlight: Violent Crime Reduction

To protect our communities, targeting and reducing violent crime in effective and responsible ways is critical for the states in 2024.

From 2019-2020, the U.S. experienced a roughly 30% increase in homicides—the largest single year increase in US history. Motor vehicle theft rose 59% from 2019-2022, with similar spikes in robberies, nonresidential burglaries, and larcenies alike. Most concerningly, the national clearance rate for violent crime is only 32.5%, with roughly half of murders going unsolved.

To protect our communities, targeting and reducing violent crime in effective and responsible ways is critical for the states in 2024. While legislators are eager to crack down on the crime in their states, they also understand that truly doing so means pursuing long-term, data-driven responses to efficiently target violent crime while providing specific support systems to both law enforcement and civilians to prevent crime cycles altogether.

For more policy ideas, check out our new publication, Essential Policy Solutions for 2024.


In Depth: Criminal Justice

The American Legislative Exchange Council is proud to be a leader on criminal justice reform. For over a decade, the ALEC task force on criminal justice has brought state legislators and stakeholders together for the purpose of driving sound criminal justice policies. ALEC members focus on new and innovative state…

+ Criminal Justice In Depth