Justice Department Establishes Initiative to Strengthen States’ Use of Criminal Justice Data

The Department of Justice today launched Justice Counts, an effort to help states make smarter policy and budget decisions using up-to-date, actionable criminal justice data. The initiative, announced today by Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta during a virtual conference with criminal justice practitioners and researchers, is led by the Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in collaboration with 21 professional associations representing every part of the criminal justice system.

“Our justice systems should be built on principles of fairness, effectiveness and efficiency, and policymakers and the public need better data in order to advance these principles,” said Associate Attorney General Gupta. “The better equipped we are with timely data, the more effectively we can serve our communities and secure the trust and confidence of those we serve.”

Source: The U.S. Department of Justice (Office of Public Affairs)