Abstract

Recent political events have laid bare the ways that the United States functions like a plutocracy, in which the ultra-wealthy exert influence over core governance functions. The criminal system is not immune from this influence. Big Capital shapes the operation of the criminal system in highly visible ways through its investments in policing technology, electronic monitoring systems, and correctional and detention systems. This Article shows how the economic elite shape the operation of the criminal system in a less obvious way: through philanthropic giving. Big Philanthropy provides another—albeit seemingly benevolent—avenue through which the ultra-wealthy can advance a vision of public safety that is of the plutocrats, not the people.

This Article brings Big Philanthropy’s influence on criminal system reform efforts to the surface and then subjects it to critique. It draws out established critiques of elite philanthropic giving—specifically, its antidemocratic and anti-transformative tendencies—and applies them to the current moment in criminal system reform. And it adds a new critique to this chorus: Big Philanthropy amplifies the evidence-based paradigm for criminal system reform and all of its attendant harms. This paradigm prioritizes reforms that produce quantifiable results based on metrics and methodologies chosen by those empowered to set the research agenda. It thus advances epistemic injustice, ignoring the knowledge and insights of those who are most impacted by the system’s violence and inequities—the very same people many elite philanthropists intend to help. The Article concludes by considering the role of Big Philanthropy in advancing a transformative vision of public safety.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

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