Prison is a brutal, costly, and ineffective response to crime.

It does not provide an environment for rehabilitation — it traumatizes incarcerated people, hurts families, and fractures communities. 

In Arizona, decades of bad policies have resulted in the fifth highest incarceration rate in the United States and costs Arizona taxpayers more than $1 billion every year. This harmful system has torn families apart with Black and Brown Arizonans being disproportionately impacted. 

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The ACLU of Arizona’s Smart Justice campaign is dedicated to making Arizona a state that invests in people, not prisons. Our movement spans neighborhoods, courts, the ballot box, and the halls of the legislature.  It is led by people who are currently or formerly incarcerated, families impacted by mass incarceration, community organizers, attorneys, and people like you.

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Join the fight to safely reduce Arizona’s jail and prison population by 50% and help us combat racism in the criminal legal system.