Criminal Justice in the United States

Visualizing Contemporary Justice Issues

Our team explored data ranging from student surveys representing 50 million american students to thousands of police stop logs to present a story on the state of American Criminal Justice.

We invite you to review the visualization descriptions below and explore the topic that interests you. After reviewing the findings, take action!

Want to act?

You can contact your congressman below and reference this website and the statistics of this study.


Contact your Congressman »

School Racial Bullying

We examined the 2013-14 Civil Rights Data Collection Survey to uncover where students are experiencing the most racial bullying in the United States.

Crime and Learning

What the 2016 National Crime Victimization Survey tells us about experiencing crime and the ability to learn.

Lame Duck Marijuana in Colorado

In Colorado, from November 2012 to January 2014, recreational marijuana had been approved by a referendum but was not yet legalized. We tell you who the police stopped during this period for marijuana possession.




Trial Trends

Over the past 30 years, the number of defendants convicted in Federal Courts after pleading guilty has increased steadily, to a point where approximately 97% of convictions are the result of a guilty plea.

About Us

We are a diverse team of four Harvard University Students with a shared passion for criminal justice.
In each of our visualizations, we explored a public dataset to find a key takeaway which provides insight into the state of justice in our country.
Contact Us at Harvard Kennedy School
P: (617) 495-1100
E: HKSCriminalJustice@gmail.com