By Measures for Justice

  After experiencing a series of hurdles obtaining and analyzing criminal justice data in New York State, Measures for Justice (MFJ) set out to better understand the state’s data infrastructure. Drawing on interviews with system stakeholders--including practitioners, policy advocates, and researchers--we explored the quality and availability of criminal justice data in the state of New York. With heated criminal justice reform debates underway, there is a clear need for data that can speak to system performance. And yet our investigation uncovered that, with few exceptions, the mechanisms for criminal justice data collection and release in New York State are broken. Efforts to put data to use across the state are frequently hampered by obscure systems, antiquated technologies, arduous request processes, and a degree of partiality that allows data access to some and not others. The present report explores each of these themes and ultimately suggests four pathways forward for New York agencies looking to pursue equitable and responsible data practices.

Rochester, NY: Measures for Justice, 2021. 23p.