The Importance of Neutrality in the Fight for Data Transparency
Let’s start with something obvious: most everyone has an opinion about what is right and wrong about the criminal justice system. Generally, those opinions reach from the fringe of one side of the aisle to the fringe of the other.
For instance, there is a movement to make the system more punitive, which includes restoring stop and frisk policies and using bail as a way to keep criminals off the street while they await due process. In support of this movement are anecdotes that suggest the system is too soft on crime and that innocent people are being hurt as a result.
On the flip side, there’s a movement to make the system more restorative, which includes diverting more people out of the system and into treatment or community service programs and abolishing bail to make the system more equitable across demographics. In support of this movement are anecdotes that suggest the system is hostile to people of color and people of little means and that it contributes to social forces that keep these demographics at a permanent disadvantage.
The conversations people are having out in communities nationwide about these poles and everything in between are critical for getting to a better place.
But at Measures for Justice, we don’t think conversations and anecdotes alone can get the job done. We think data–facts, evidence–need to be the cornerstone for any and all conversations about reform.
Which means, in gist, that as an organization, we have to be agnostic about what the data says. If we truly believe that data in aggregate speaks louder than any one person’s experience–and we do!–then our job is to push hard for data transparency and accessibility and not for what to do once the data is out there. We make the tools, but we don’t tell people what to do with them, no more than a company that makes paint brushes tells an artist what to paint.
For thirteen years, we’ve maintained this position–not because as individuals we don’t care but because collectively we believe in the power of neutral, nonpartisan data to shape conversations in communities that can, in turn, use data to advocate for policy change or the status quo.
What does neutrality mean for us?
- It means not telling communities what we think the data says or what should be done as a result. Instead, we teach communities how to understand and read data in general so they can draw their own conclusions.
- It means not taking a public stand on controversial issues like bail reform or diversions. Instead we help communities access data on the effects of bail reform or diversions so they can make informed decisions about policy as a result.
- It means winning the trust of the public and their public servants by offering up tools they can use, and not policy positions they may or may not endorse.
- It means putting data above our individual values, which is often uncomfortable.
How do we stay neutral?
Often we work with county agencies and offices that do not have widespread support from the community leaders we also work with. How do we balance everyone’s needs and feelings?
We don’t. We let data do the talking. And it works. Once we make data available, the consensus around next steps tends to come naturally. Which speaks to the value of data, itself, as a neutral language for getting to a common understanding.
As individuals, we all have our values, ethics, and politics. Sometimes data supports them. Sometimes data just doesn’t. Which is the point. Data should be eye-opening for us all. A foundation for what we say and do next. So while it’s not always easy to stay on the sidelines, we are passionate about ensuring everyone else can jump in with data as a foundational piece of the argument.
