Working for a system rooted in dignity, not punishment. Our Criminal Justice Task Force is committed to building a system that is humane and just, fiscally responsible, and focused on true public safety.

​

Wisconsin spends nearly $1.5 billion each year on its prison system—most of it on maintaining a prison system that is aging, overcrowded, and increasingly unsustainable. We know there’s a better way. In response, SOPHIA has long prioritized criminal justice reform as a core issue, recognizing its direct impact on our neighbors and communities across the state.

​

What We’re Fighting For:

• Treatment Over Incarceration (TAD):
  The work of the task force began when we helped launch the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court in Waukesha County and we continue to advocate for its funding and success. People struggling with addiction need help—not handcuffs.

​​

• Ending Crimeless Revocation:
  Alongside our statewide partners WISDOM and its affiliates, we’re pushing to end the unjust practice of sending people back to prison for technical violations—not new crimes. This practice is keeping Wisconsin prisons full and prisioners discouraged. It’s time to stop punishing people for falling short and start supporting their success. 

​​

• Reducing the Prison Population:
  We call for the closure of outdated prisons, an end to prolonged solitary confinement, and the compassionate release of elderly and medically vulnerable individuals. Keeping people locked up simply because the system always has is not justice.

​​​

The Criminal Justice Task Force meets monthly. Contact us for more information.

​

Together, we can transform Wisconsin’s criminal justice system into one that prioritizes both public saftey and rehabilitation.