The California Criminal Justice Data Gap -

This report reviews the lack of inconsistency, quality, and availability in California’s criminal justice data. Looking through state and local agencies, the report notes that obtaining data is difficult because of a lack of data infrastructure. There is confusion amongst departments in which data can be shared with external parties, leading to data gaps for policies and studies. With local jurisdictions, some may use electronic methods, while others may still use paper files for their records. The report recommends three solutions to this problem: 1) Allocate resources for IT upgrades; 2) Establish data standards for all state and local jurisdictions; and 3) Clarify which data can be shared and with whom. This report was done in conjunction with the Stanford Criminal Justice Center and Measures for Justice. Mikaela Rabinowitz is the Justice Practice Director at Measures for Justice. Robert Weisberg is a Faculty Co-Director at the Stanford Criminal Justice Center. Lauren McQueen Pearce is the Assistant Director of Data Outreach at Measures for Justice.

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^{Keywords: 2019, state, local, data, arrest trends, data collection, transparency, data collection, Stanford, Stanford Criminal Justice Center, Measures for Justice, agencies, data infrastructure}