Our policing and legal systems should keep communities safe, treat people fairly, and use fiscal resources wisely.

Yet more people in our state and country are deprived of their liberty than ever before unfairly and unnecessarily, with no benefit to public safety. From instances of police violence, to systemic inequities produced by overly-punitive sentencing laws and guidelines, to the barriers to jobs, education, and housing posed by a record the devastating consequences of our harsh, ineffective, and costly criminal justice system have fallen overwhelmingly on low-income people and Black and brown communities.

Through public education, grassroots organizing, and legal action, the ACLU of Delaware takes a comprehensive approach to reform these systems at each and every level. We work to hold police accountable, protect the rights of those incarcerated, reform harsh sentencing laws, end unjust practices like cash bail, combat racial inequities, and push for investments in alternatives to policing and prisons. 


 

Campaign for Smart Justice

A.Campaign for Smart Justice

A.

The Campaign for Smart Justice aims to educate the public about the staggering number of Delaware residents who have been adversely affected by the justice system and how that system disproportionately impacts people of color. Through public education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy, we will challenge the system and create change for individuals, families, and communities.

Learn more

Coalition for Smart Justice

A.Coalition for Smart Justice

A.

The Coalition for Smart Justice is a statewide group of organizations and individuals who advocate for a criminal justice system that fosters public safety by reducing mass incarceration, recidivism, and racial disparities. Through legislative reform, public education, community organizing, and grassroots advocacy, the coalition challenges policymakers to create change that will have a significant positive impact on individuals, families, and communities.

Learn more

Smart Justice Ambassadors

A.Smart Justice Ambassadors

A.

Historically, communities that are most deeply impacted by Delaware's legal system have the least access to the resources, training, and support needed to help change the legal system. In 2021, the Campaign for Smart Justice launched a Smart Justice Ambassador program to recruit, train, and empower Delawareans who have been impacted by those systems, enabling them to make changes for the better.

Smart Justice Ambassadors (SJAs) complete a paid, extensive training to better understand and navigate avenues for change, and to grow the skills necessary to become community advocates on Smart Justice issues such as policing, sentencing, prison, reentry, probation, expungement, and more.

Learn more

Smart Justice Chapters

A.Smart Justice Chapters

A.

If you have an interest in improving Delaware's justice, are looking to get involved, or become more informed on these issues, then our volunteer Campaign for Smart Justice chapter meetings may be for you!

We currently have active volunteer chapters in each of Delaware’s three counties.

Upcoming chapter meetings

Clean Slate Delaware

A.Clean Slate Delaware

A.

America’s decades-old culture of tough-on-crime policies has created an unprecedented crisis in our legal system: A staggering number of Americans find themselves locked in a paper prison, with no end to their sentence, even after they’ve served their time.

Clean Slate Delaware aims to expand access to second chances through legislation, implementation, and public education efforts that will expand expungement eligibility and help more eligible records access expungement.

Learn more