The future of fair, accountable, and effective prosecution lies in a surprising place: better data and way better decision-making.
A white paper from Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP), “Advancing the Use of Data in Prosecution: What We Measure Matters” highlights why reform-minded prosecutors must invest in meaningful data collection and analysis to transform the criminal legal system.
Why Data Matters for Justice
Most prosecutors’ offices still define success by conviction rates, case volume, and how quickly files close. Those metrics measure throughput — how efficiently the system processes people — not whether justice was served, disparities were reduced, or communities were made safer. Fair and Just Prosecution’s white paper documents what meaningful data collection actually requires, and why only about 40 percent of offices are anywhere close to doing it.
The future of accountable, effective prosecution is not a mystery. It requires better data and decision-making grounded in outcomes that actually matter. A white paper from Fair and Just Prosecution — Advancing the Use of Data in Prosecution: What We Measure Matters — makes the case for why reform-minded prosecutors must invest in meaningful data collection and analysis to drive genuine change in the criminal legal system.
Why Data Matters for Justice
Historically, prosecutors’ offices collected minimal information, focusing primarily on conviction rates, case volume, and how quickly they closed files. The problem is that these metrics were never designed to measure justice — they were designed to measure activity. High numbers tell an office how much it processed. They say nothing about whether racial disparities were reduced, whether victims’ needs were addressed, whether justice was truly served, or whether the harm caused by prosecution exceeded any benefit to the community.
Reform-minded prosecutors increasingly recognize that driving real change requires examining outcomes that actually matter: diversion program success rates, racial equity in charging and sentencing, public trust, and genuine community safety. As Ramsey County Attorney John Choi observed, data can start and generate the conversations that produce change. Without it, those conversations have no evidentiary foundation.
The Challenges Prosecutors Face
Despite genuine reform intentions in many offices, building strong data systems is harder than announcing them. According to FJP’s research, while most offices collect some data, only about 40 percent gather comprehensive information across key decision points. Resource constraints limit the ability to hire analysts, build infrastructure, or maintain data accuracy. Institutional culture and leadership shape whether offices prioritize meaningful metrics or default to the traditional benchmarks that have always defined “success” in prosecution. Even large or well-funded offices sometimes lack standardized systems for tracking outcomes consistently across their operations.
Without data infrastructure, reform commitments are unverifiable. An office can announce a new diversion policy or racial equity initiative — but without tracking whether line prosecutors are following it and whether it is producing results, the announcement is a press release. Accountability requires measurement.
What Better Data Can Achieve
Investing in data capacity gives prosecutors the tools to actually govern their own offices. It enables tracking of equity outcomes — whether racial disparities are shrinking — and compliance monitoring to verify whether line prosecutors are following new diversion or declination policies. It creates the capacity to measure community impact and to hold offices accountable to the voters who elected them on reform platforms. With better data, daily decision-making can be aligned with the broader vision the office publicly committed to, rather than drifting back to the default metrics that don’t track justice at all.
Recommendations for Reform
The FJP white paper outlines a clear set of structural investments for offices serious about accountability:
Measure fairness, community satisfaction, and rehabilitative outcomes alongside — or instead of — conviction tallies. An office that can only report how many cases it won cannot demonstrate it is serving justice.
Data analysts, researchers, and technology specialists are no longer optional. They are the infrastructure that makes accountability possible. An office without them is making consequential decisions blind.
Universities, research institutions, and technical partners can provide expertise that most offices cannot build internally, particularly for data infrastructure, methodology, and independent analysis of outcomes.
Consistent data collection across an office is the precondition for any meaningful analysis. Public reporting of outcomes builds community trust and creates the external accountability that internal metrics alone cannot provide.
Real reform doesn’t happen without the work. It starts with evidence, accountability, and measurable progress. By committing to better data practices, prosecutors’ offices can stop announcing change and start proving it — because what an office measures is what it is actually accountable for.
Sources
Williams, Rita, Why Better Data Is the Key to Accountable, Effective Prosecution, Clutch Justice (May 7, 2025), https://clutchjustice.com/2025/05/07/data-in-prosecutors-offices/.
Williams, R. (2025, May 7). Why better data is the key to accountable, effective prosecution. Clutch Justice. https://clutchjustice.com/2025/05/07/data-in-prosecutors-offices/
Williams, Rita. “Why Better Data Is the Key to Accountable, Effective Prosecution.” Clutch Justice, 7 May 2025, clutchjustice.com/2025/05/07/data-in-prosecutors-offices/.
Williams, Rita. “Why Better Data Is the Key to Accountable, Effective Prosecution.” Clutch Justice, May 7, 2025. https://clutchjustice.com/2025/05/07/data-in-prosecutors-offices/.
