Wayne County has built a $670-million dollar complex that went almost $150 million over budget, including a new jail. Our fact sheet includes information on the jail project, data on the harms jails cause to individuals, families, and communities, and ideas for possible alternatives.Read More
A fact sheet that covers how much the city spends on the Detroit Police Department, what the police do with that money, a grounding statement from our Executive Director on what it means to defund the police, and a few ideas on where our tax dollars could go instead.Read More
Last November, DJC launched our 2025 year-end fundraising campaign—Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win. We’re deeply grateful to share that, with your support, we hit our goal and have already begun putting these funds to work in service of local movements fighting for liberation.Read More
Detroit ended 2025 with one of its lowest homicide totals in decades. The number is striking — and incomplete. In this conversation, our executive director, Nancy A. Parker, joins Robyn Vincent to talk about the long, sometimes invisible work that shapes public safety: housing stability, community trust, movement lawyering, and the slow effort to repair...Read More
For many of us, the term “estate planning” brings up uncomfortable feelings. The majority of Americans don’t have a will because they don’t want to think about death, or because they don’t believe they own enough property or assets to warrant creating one.Read More
The United States faces a severe housing shortage, compounded by affordability challenges, rising costs, population shifts, and a legacy of vacant properties. Pre-approved housing plans—standardized architectural designs vetted in advance for compliance with zoning and building codes—offer a powerful tool to accelerate construction, reduce costs, and support equitable redevelopment.Read More
In the aftermath of the 2020 uprisings sparked by the killing of George Floyd, communities across the United States grappled with calls to reimagine public safety, confront police violence, and question the role of the carceral system. Amid this national reckoning, many cities began exploring alternatives to traditional policing, focusing on approaches that prioritize healing,...Read More
Metro Detroit Restorative Justice Network (MDRJN) is a special project of the Detroit Justice Center (DJC) that seeks to develop community-led responses to harm that do not rely on the police or prison systems. This project is grounded in a growing abolitionist movement in Detroit, which advocates for alternatives that focus on healing and accountability...Read More
