Measures for Justice Debuts Video and Photo Essay Series at Sidewalk Film Festival – Shining a Light on the Connection Between Criminal Justice Data and People’s Lives
Let’s Be Clear Features Captivating Stories from Twelve People with First Hand Experience with the Criminal Justice System
ROCHESTER, NY (August 23, 2023) – Measures for Justice, a non-profit that helps communities reshape how the criminal justice system works based on data, has created a documentary video and photo essay collection that demonstrates the power of criminal justice data to inform and inspire change.
The Let’s Be Clear series launched yestarday at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama. A few of the documentaries include:
Hillary Transue, Educator & Advocate | Luzerne County, PA
“The gavel came down and the bailiff cuffed me and she said, ‘Look what you did to your mother.’ You’re not allowed to say goodbye to your family. The last time I heard my mom, she was screaming.”
Vernetta Perkins, Judge | Dallas County, AL
“My vision for this city in ten years is a place that is alive and thriving. It’s a learning community filled with opportunity, a restorative criminal justice system where people feel that the courts serve them.”
Brett Tolman, Former U.S. Attorney, Executive Director of Right on Crime | Salt Lake County, UT
“Today my organization uses data to go to conservatives and say, ‘Hey, you have to start looking at ways to improve and fix the system if you want to reduce crime.’”
“Data matters. In order for there to be a fair, transparent and more efficient criminal justice system, we must have adequate data so prosecutors, police, and judges can make appropriate assessments and communities can hold them accountable,” said Amy Bach, CEO of Measures for Justice. “The incredible individuals portrayed in our Let’s Be Clear series show just how personal data can be.”
The entire series is available at https://measuresforjustice.org/lets-be-clear/.
About Measures for Justice
Measures for Justice arms communities with their own data to solve for systemic problems in criminal justice. We do this by showing people what criminal justice looks like nationwide; helping to standardize and improve criminal justice data nationwide; and offering tools, services, and research to ensure people can use the data to best effect. We believe the only way our criminal justice system can improve is by monitoring its performance, isolating what works and what doesn’t, and developing interventions based on fact. For all this work, data are critical.
