Finding Common Ground To Advance Criminal Justice Policy With Adam Gelb

The Jeff-alytics Podcast

The Jeff-alytics Podcast
Finding Common Ground To Advance Criminal Justice Policy With Adam Gelb
Apr 01, 2026
AH Datalytics

Today I'm talking with Adam Gelb, President and CEO of the Council on Criminal Justice. Adam started CCJ in 2019 with a vision of bringing together as many different viewpoints as possible from across the political aisle to find common ground and make smart, evidence-backed policy recommendations.

For this conversation, we talk about why murder has fallen so dramatically over the last few years, how you build a sustainable organization that spans the political spectrum, and how CCJ brings together experts on such a wide range of topics covering everything from crime trends to the future of AI in criminal justice. 

Adam Gelb has been working for a more just and effective criminal justice system throughout a varied 40-year career. Before founding the Council on Criminal Justice in 2019, Gelb was an award-winning crime reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, staff to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, crime policy director for the lieutenant governor of Maryland, director of the Georgia Sentencing Commission, and led public safety initiatives at the Pew Charitable Trusts. Gelb speaks frequently with the media about national trends and state innovations and advises policy makers on strategies that are grounded in facts, evidence, and fundamental principles of justice.

Episode Artwork Finding Common Ground To Advance Criminal Justice Policy With Adam Gelb 43:33 Episode Artwork A Blueprint for Reducing Gun Violence with Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott 35:20 Episode Artwork Talking Comedy And Tragedy with Ferne Pearlstein & Bob Edwards 29:59 Episode Artwork Policing in the Age of AI with Ian Adams 44:41 Episode Artwork How Crime Data Shapes Political Narratives With Galen Druke 42:48 Episode Artwork How Research Is Reshaping Criminal Justice Policy With Jennifer Doleac 38:21 Episode Artwork Inside the FBI’s Crime Data Reporting With Assistant Director Tim Ferguson 48:05 Episode Artwork Transforming Criminal Justice in New Orleans with District Attorney Jason Williams 34:32 Episode Artwork How To Reduce Gun Violence in Cities With Jens Ludwig 43:55 Episode Artwork The Science Behind Smarter Policing With Jerry Ratcliffe 39:27 Episode Artwork What We Get Wrong About Crime And Immigration With Dara Lind 31:07 Episode Artwork The Policies Behind Atlantic County’s Safer Streets With William Reynolds 35:36 Episode Artwork The Nation’s Crime Measures with Alex Piquero 40:15 Episode Artwork The Jeff-alytics 2025 Year in Review 12:04 Episode Artwork Episode 10: When Criminal Justice Policy Ignores Lived Experiences with Ifetayo Harvey 26:54 Episode Artwork Episode 9: Lessons From Economics on Communicating Crime Data with Paul Krugman 34:04 Episode Artwork Episode 8: What Can Minneapolis Teach Us About Police Reform? with Ganesha Martin, Esq. 41:23 Episode Artwork Episode 7: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About NIBRS But Were Afraid To Ask with Dr. Susan Parker 33:28 Episode Artwork Episode 6: Data and the Prosecutor with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner 32:50 Episode Artwork Episode 5: A Legislator’s Vision for Data-informed Policymaking with Whitney Westerfield 34:18 Episode Artwork Episode 4: How Can Jail Data Inform Criminal Justice Policies? ft. Anna Harvey 40:40 Episode Artwork Episode 3: Understanding America’s Crime Debate with Philip Bump 33:03 Episode Artwork Episode 2: Can Data Change the Way We See Crime? with Laura Arnold 26:55 Episode Artwork Episode 1: Why Stories Stick and Data Struggles with Michael Lewis 45:06 Episode Artwork Episode 0: Welcome to Jeff-alytics, the Podcast. 1:30