In this week's address, the President spoke to the need for meaningful criminal justice reform in America. America faces a cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration that traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. The President believes that we can disrupt the pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails, and make our criminal justice system smarter, fairer, and more effective. That’s why in recent weeks, he has been traveling the country and meeting with Americans who are working to improve the criminal justice system, from law enforcement officials working to lower the crime and incarceration rates, to former prisoners who are earning their second chance. And on Monday, the President will travel to Newark, New Jersey to highlight efforts to help Americans who’ve paid their debt to society rejoin their communities.

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online at obamawhitehouse.archives.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, October 31, 2015.

Transcript | mp4 | mp3