Colorado First State to Push Toward Statewide Use of Data Dashboards to Improve Fairness and Effectiveness of Criminal Justice System with help of CU Denver

Eighteen Colorado District Attorneys’ Offices increase accountability and transparency.

Today, four additional Colorado District Attorneys’ (DA) offices unveiled “data dashboards,” publicly available resources designed to promote more effective, just, and transparent decision-making in prosecution. The dashboards are an expansion of the Colorado Prosecutorial Dashboards project to the 9th, 11th, 19th, and 22nd Judicial Districts.

Colorado is the first in the nation to push toward statewide implementation of prosecutorial data dashboards. Collectively, the 18 Judicial Districts participating in the project represent 52 of Colorado’s 64 counties—and data covers 85% of the state’s population. The remaining districts have the opportunity to create data dashboards as the project transitions to the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council (CDAC) for ongoing management this fall.

Community members can access the data to gain a better understanding of the work their DA’s office does, including trends in cases filed and resolved over time, patterns in how individuals are treated, and information about how they are addressing serious crime, as well as protecting and serving victims. Offices will use data from the dashboards to improve their understanding of case outcomes for similarly situated defendants, identify promising practices and programs, and determine areas where practice change could be useful.

“The move to create prosecutorial data dashboards was sparked by public demand for greater accountability and impartiality, along with a focus on community well-being and fairness,” said Don Stemen, PhD, Loyola University Chicago professor and co-manager of the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators (PPI) Project. “Increasingly, prosecutors are expected to take proactive, engaged responses to community problems, reduce disparities in justice outcomes, build greater trust through community engagement, and increase prosecutorial transparency and accountability. This requires robust data-driven prosecutorial work.”

The PPI is a national effort led by researchers at Loyola University Chicago, Florida International University, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The Colorado Prosecutorial Dashboard project is a collaborative effort between PPI, The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado Denver, the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council, and DAs’ offices across the state. The project was funded with a grant from the Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative.

“It is exciting to see this expanded commitment to data-driven decision-making in Colorado,” said Lauren Gase, PhD, senior evaluator and project director at The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado Denver. “This project is about using data to both support transparency and inform ongoing decision-making. I am inspired by the great work of DA offices across the state who are using their data to identify opportunities to communicate with their partners and communities, improve case processing, and reduce disparities.”

District Data Dashboard Links and DA Statements:

9th Judicial District (Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco) – data dashboard

“Keeping the public informed is of the utmost importance in building public trust and strengthening the public’s confidence that the criminal justice system is fair and just. Partnering with PPI to develop an outward-facing dashboard makes information regarding criminal justice processes, outcomes, and trends accessible to those we serve and gives the public what it deserves—transparency,” said Jefferson J. Cheney, DA for the 9th Judicial District.

For more information, please email the 9th Judicial District.

11th Judicial District (Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Park) – data dashboard

For more information, please contact Joanne Morando.

19th Judicial District (Weld) – data dashboard

“Transparency in District Attorney’s offices is essential,” said Michael J. Rourke, DA for the 19th Judicial District. “The criminal justice system continues to face criticism, so I hope that by sharing more information about our work and about our prosecution results, it will be another example to show that we prioritize public safety. I want our community to know that we do the right thing, for the right reasons, and I believe this will help in sharing that information with the public.”

For more information, please contact Krista Henery.

22nd Judicial District (Dolores, Montezuma) – data dashboard

“The 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s office is proud to announce its adoption of the dashboard data analytics program, which will allow members of the public to see in real-time the work the office does, including average time to resolve cases, numbers of cases, pleas, diversions, sentencing data, and more. The office welcomes public input as we work on implementation of this powerful program to provide greater transparency for all who are interested in the work we do to provide justice,” said Christian Hatfield, DA for the 22nd Judicial District.

For more information, please email the 2nd Judicial District.

All dashboards are available at https://data.dacolorado.org/

To learn more, contact Dr. Lauren Gase at The Evaluation Center.

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The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado Denver operates as a not-for-profit entity with the backing of a major research university. The Center has been providing high quality, ethically defensible, and culturally responsive evaluation since 2004.

The Prosecutorial Performance Indicators project was launched in 2017 by researchers from Loyola University of Chicago, Florida International University, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge. A menu of 55 indicators has been created to assess prosecutorial progress on efficiency, community safety, and fairness.

The Colorado District Attorney’s Council (CDAC) is a statewide organization—created by statute—representing the district attorneys for all 22 of Colorado’s judicial districts. CDAC promotes, fosters, and encourages an effective administration of criminal justice in our state through training of personnel, legislative drafting and liaison, legal research, management assistance, case tracking, and dissemination of data to other criminal justice agencies.

Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative is applying the technology and expertise of Microsoft to accelerate the impact of justice reform organizations and nonprofits.

About the University of Colorado Denver

Millions of moments start at CU Denver, a place where innovation, research, and learning meet in the heart of a global city. We’re the state’s premier public urban research university with more than 100 in-demand, top ranked bachelors, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. We partner with diverse learners—at any stage of their life and career—for transformative educational experiences. Across seven schools and colleges, our leading faculty inspires and works alongside students to solve complex challenges and produce impactful creative work. As part of the state’s largest university system, CU Denver is a major contributor to the Colorado economy, with 2,000 employees and an annual economic impact of $800 million. To learn more about how CU Denver helps learners meet their moment, visit ucdenver.edu. 

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