Criminal Justice Data Transparency Model

Summary

The purpose of this act is to create a model of uniform criminal justice data collection by requiring local and state criminal justice agencies to report complete, accurate, and timely data, and making such data available to the public.

Criminal Justice Data Transparency Model

SECTION 1. Legislative Purpose and Findings

a) The purpose of this act is to create a model of uniform criminal justice data collection by requiring local and state criminal justice agencies to report complete, accurate, and timely data, and making such data available to the public.

b) It is found that many states do not have uniform criminal justice data collection processes by each of their local and state entities, making it difficult to review and compare important trends in the criminal justice system from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

c) It is found that it is important to implement a uniform data collection process and promote criminal justice data transparency.

d) It is found that implementing more uniform, accurate, and readily available data will help lawmakers make more evidence-based decisions on matters affecting the criminal justice system.

SECTION 2. Data Collection and Reporting

a) Each local, county, and state law enforcement agency shall collect the following information:
1. For each arrest or citation/notice to appear summons in criminal cases:

i. Arrest or citation number.

ii. Incident date.

iii. Arrest or citation date.

iv. Arrest or citation charge statute number.

v. Arrest or citation charge severity.

vi. Whether charges were referred to the prosecutor and the date, if applicable.

vii. Whether the individual taken into custody, other individuals, or any law officer involved in the incident sustained an injury or died.

viii. Whether the interaction between the law enforcement officer and the individual was recorded using audio or video equipment.

ix. Whether a behavioral health specialist assisted law enforcement during the incident and for what purpose the behavioral health specialist was needed to assist law enforcement, including substance abuse and mental health issues.

x. Whether the individual was provided or referred to services in order to respond to behavioral health issues, including substance abuse and mental health issues.

2. For each individual taken into custody or issued a citation:
i. Year of birth.
ii. Zip code of primary residence.
iii. Race and ethnicity.
iv. Gender.
b) Each clerk of court or other appropriate office shall collect the following data for each criminal case:
1. Case number.
2. Unique identifier as described by Section 4 (a)(1).
3. Offense date.
4. County in which the offense was committed.
5. Arrest date.
6. Filing date.
7. Arraignment date or initial appearance.
8. Attorney assignment date.
9. Attorney withdrawal date.
10. Case status.
11. Disposition date.
12. For each defendant:
i. Year of birth.
ii. Age.
iii. Zip code of primary residence.
iv. Primary language.
v. Race and ethnicity.
vi. Gender
vii. Citizenship
viii. Immigration status,
ix. Indigency status.
x. Any habitual offender, sexual offender, gang affiliation, and/or domestic violence designation.
13. The following information on a formal charge filed against the defendant:
i. Charge number.
ii. Charge description.
iii. Charge statute.
iv. Charge type.
v. Charge class severity.
vi. Charge disposition date.
vii. Drug type for charge, if known.
14. Plea date.
15. The following information on bail or bond pretrial release:
i. Pretrial release decision.
ii. Nonmonetary conditions of release
iii. Cash bail or bond amount.
iv. Booking date and reason.
v. Date defendant is released on bail, bond, or pretrial release.
vi. Bail or bond revocation due to a new offense, a failure to appear, or a violation of the terms of bail or bond.
16. Any court dates and dates of motions and appearances.
17. Defense attorney type (public defender, court appointed counsel, or contract attorney).
18. The following information related to sentencing:
i. Sentence date
ii. Charge sentenced to, charge number, charge description, statute, type, and charge class severity.
iii. Sentence type.
iv. Sentence length.
v. Sentence condition.
vi. Any time served credit and length.
vii. Court fees amount.
viii. Fine amount balance or payment to date.
ix. Restitution amount ordered, amount collected, and amount paid to victim.

c) Each prosecuting attorney shall collect the following data, if known:
1. For a human victim of a crime of violence:
i. Race and ethnicity.
ii. Gender.
iii. Age.
iv. Relationship to the offender.
2. Annual felony and misdemeanor caseload.
3. Number of full-time and part-time prosecutors.
4. Charge number.
5. Charge description.
6. Charge statute.
7. Charge severity.
8. Charge screening decision.
9. Charge referral date.
10. Whether the accused entered a pretrial diversion or deferred prosecution agreement.
11. The outcome of a pretrial diversion or deferred prosecution agreement.
12. Date of plea offer and description of the plea offer.
13. Date of adjudication if taken to trial.

d) Each public defender, contract attorney or administrator, or overseer of any court appointment program shall collect the following data for each criminal case:
1. Number of full-time and part-time public defenders, as well as contract attorneys representing indigent defendants.
2. Annual felony and misdemeanor caseload.
3. Charge number.
4. Charge description.
5. Charge statute.
6. Charge severity.
7. Case outcome, including sentence imposed.
8. Date of plea offer and description of the plea offer
9. Attorney assignment and appearance date, and withdrawal, if applicable.

e) The administrator of each county detention facility shall collect the following data:
1. Jail capacity.
2. Weekly admissions to jail for probation/parole revocation.
3. Daily and year-end jail population.
4. Daily and year-end jail pretrial population.
5. Daily and year-end jail presentence population.
6. Daily and year-end postsentence population.
7. Daily and year-end federal and state inmates held in jail population.
8. Daily cost of a jail bed.
9. Daily number of correctional officers.
10. Annual jail budget.
11. For each inmate:
i. Booking date and reason
ii. Any domestic violence, gang affiliation, habitual offender, or sexual offender designations.

f) The Department of Corrections shall collect the following information
1. For each prisoner:
i. DOC number
ii. Year of birth
iii. Race and ethnicity.
iv. Number of children.
v. Education level.
vi. Admission date.
vii. Admission type.
viii. Current institution and institution security level.
ix. Any domestic violence, gang affiliation, habitual offender, or sexual offender designations.
x. Committing county.
xi. Whether the reason for admission is for a new conviction, probation violation, or parole violation. If for a probation or parole violation, whether it was for a technical violation, based on a new offense, or other reason.
xii. Offense and statute of underlying criminal act.
xiii. Whether the inmate is serving a concurrent or consecutive sentence.
xiv. Length of sentence.
xv. Projected discharge date.
xvi. Time served, in days.
xvii. Good conduct time earned.
xviii. Any prior incarceration with the state.
xix. Disciplinary violation and action.
xx. Participation in rehabilitative or educational correctional programs.
2. For each correctional facility:
i. Budget.
ii. Daily prison population.
iii. Daily cost of a prison bed.
iv. Daily number of correctional officers.
3. The yearly inmate admissions by offense type.
4. The overall recidivism rate of individuals released from prison.
i. Recidivism shall be defined in the following manners within a three-year period following release:
1. Reconviction
2. Re-incarceration.
3. Re-arrest.
4. Probation revocation due to technical violation and new offense
5. Parole revocation due to technical violation and new offense.
g) The Department of Probation and Parole shall collect the following information:
1. For each probationer:
i. Year of birth.
ii. Race and ethnicity.
iii. Sex.
iv. Case number.
v. Length of probation sentence imposed and length of probation sentence served.
vi. Probation release date or projected release date.
vii. Probation revocation due to technical violation or new offense.
2. Daily cost per probationer.
h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an individual to include incriminating evidence about themselves.

SECTION 3. Data Publicly Available.

a) The proper statewide department shall receive the information from Section 3 and shall publish datasets in its possession in a modern, open, electronic format that is machine-readable and readily accessible by the public on its website. The published data shall be searchable, at a minimum, by each data element, county, circuit, and unique identifier.

SECTION 4. Criminal Justice Data Transparency.

a) In order to facilitate the availability of comparable and uniform criminal justice data, the proper statewide department shall:
1. Create a unique identifier for each criminal case received from the clerks of the court which identifies the person who is the subject of the criminal case. The unique identifier must be the same for that person in any court case and used across local and state entities for all information related to that person. The number must be randomly selected.
2. Make all data received under Section 2 comparable, transferable, and readily usable.
3. Make the database available to the public without the necessity of a license or charge a fee.
4. Create by rule how entities subject to the requirements of Section 2 will submit data.
5. Create by rule how the data is compiled, processed, structured, used, or shared.

 

Amendments adopted by the Criminal Justice Task Force on July 17, 2020

Amendments approved by the Board of Directors on August 9, 2020