New investigative report reveals clear evidence of broken criminal justice data collection in New York State, suggests four remedies

Rochester, NY (March 1, 2022) – A new report conducted by nonprofit Measures for Justice and funded by the Tow Foundation, reveals that, with few exceptions, the mechanisms for criminal justice data collection and release in New York State are broken. “A Look Inside the Black Box of New York State’s Criminal Justice Data,” covers the ways New York State’s criminal justice data infrastructure fails to meet basic levels of transparency that are requisite for evidence-based decision making and general accountability.

Key findings from the report show 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.

Watch the video summarizing the report and listen to audio of interviews with key stakeholders about the state of criminal justice data in New York State.

With heated criminal justice reform debates underway, there is a clear need for data that can speak to system performance. “Without access to information about the ways cases are processed through the system, practitioners, advocates, and researchers are left unequipped to make decisions necessary for their work. Moreover, the public is left in the dark about basic information pertaining to their local justice system,” noted Amy Bach, CEO of Measures for Justice.

Findings drew from a review of state law and departmental policies governing access to criminal case information as well as other sources including data sharing agreements, obtained from state agencies. Researchers conducted a series of interviews with criminal justice stakeholders throughout New York State including researchers, policy advocates, and practitioners at both the state and local levels.

In the report, a local prosecutor is quoted discussing their office’s attempts to access court data. “We’ve tried for several years to get access to the data but we can’t. We can’t even say, ‘Can you show us the available queries? Can you just tell us what you’re collecting so we can tell you what we want?’ Honestly, we’re not even sure what OCA [Office of Court Administration] collects.”

In another example, Julie Ciccolini, the Director of Law Enforcement Accountability at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, recalled requesting case-level data from the Department of Criminal Justice Services while at her previous role at the Legal Aid Society. “It was a really difficult process with such a long waiting time that made it almost impossible to investigate certain patterns. If you wanted to figure something out and had a deadline of say, six months, that wouldn’t happen.”

The report concluded with four specific next steps that New York State should consider:

• Rethink the purpose of data collection and consider ways to more accurately account for peoples’ experience with the system.
• Establish data standards through statewide legislation and by encouraging agencies to prioritize data standardization.
• Address ad hoc transparency by mandating collection of certain data elements.
• Alleviate capacity issues by resourcing agencies tasked with data collection.

With data we have the power to uncover trends in the way cases are processed through the system, hone in on problems, and identify effective solutions. The extent to which stakeholders in New York State have difficulty obtaining data they need, either due to poor quality or a lack of accessibility, suggests that a lot of what unfolds in criminal justice agencies across the state goes unseen. This opacity prevents evidence-based discussions related to criminal justice policies and practices.

Measures for Justice is leading a movement to change the future of criminal justice by developing tools that help communities reshape how the system works. Since 2011, Measures for Justice has worked together with communities to shine a light on what criminal justice looks like nationwide; collaborated to standardize and improve criminal justice data nationwide; and created tools, provided services, and led research to help create a criminal justice system that is fully transparent, accessible, and accountable.

Audio clips were recorded by representatives, not the original speaker of each quote.