Our Mission

Justice Counts is a national initiative to improve the accessibility and usability of criminal justice data. Led by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, Justice Counts is directed by a national steering committee and supported by 19 national partner organizations and 14 working committees with more than 100 contributing members. Together, these collaborators work to address persistent challenges with criminal justice data.

Criminal justice data is sparse. Very little timely criminal justice data is made available to the public.

Criminal justice data is scattered. Information is spread across multiple offices and departments, rarely consolidated in a way that is useful for the people working to improve how the system functions.

Criminal justice data is stale. By the time it reaches the desks of decision-makers, data related to jails, probation, and crime are often outdated—months, or sometimes years, old.

As a result, decision-makers often lack even the most basic data on criminal justice patterns and trends to inform their decisions—decisions that have lasting effects on everything from public safety to the people and communities disparately impacted by the criminal justice system.

Justice Counts is founded on the belief that sharing criminal justice data should be easy.

It should be easy for all criminal justice agencies to share key data about their work and achievements.
It should be easy for decision-makers across the country to use that data to make informed decisions that advance public safety and fairness.

Justice Counts provides tools, resources, and support to help agencies achieve this vision and to help decision-makers most effectively use criminal justice data.

Justice Counts is a collaborative approach led and supported by an unparalleled coalition of partners and advisors, including a national steering committee, national partner organizations, metrics and technical implementation guide committees, and staff.

National Steering Committee

The National Steering Committee

Michael Boggs (chair), Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Georgia

Romain Alexander, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Governor, Delaware

Kathy Buckley, Director, Pennsylvania Office of Victims’ Services, Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency

Bernice Corley, Executive Director, Indiana Public Defender Council

Lee Eby, Jail Captain, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon

Tony Fish, Program Manager, Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reentry Program, Oklahoma

Justin Forkner, Chief Administrative Officer, Indiana Supreme Court

Claire Hall, County Commissioner, Lincoln County, Oregon

Peter John Koutoujian, Sheriff, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

Valerie Mielke, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, New Jersey Department of Human Services

Karhlton Moore, Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice

Michael Nail, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Community Supervision

Christopher Poulos, Executive Director, Center for Justice and Human Dignity

Ruby Qazilbash, Associate Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice

Dr. Beth Skinner, Director, Iowa Department of Corrections

Nicole Sullivan, Director of Reentry Services, Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, North Carolina Department of Public Safety

Banci Tewolde, Associate Director, Virginia Public Safety, Department of Planning and Budget

Dr. Heather Tubman-Carbone, Associate Deputy Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice

Toni Walker, State Representative, Connecticut

Paul F. Williams, Chief of Police, City of Springfield, Missouri

Bennet Wright, Executive Director, Alabama Sentencing Commission

National Partner Organizations

Criminal Justice Membership Associations

Each of the partners below represents the interests and perspectives of leaders and participants in criminal justice. They contribute their specific expertise in developing sector-specific metrics and messaging, in raising awareness within their sectors, and providing local connections.

American Jail Association (AJA)
American Probation and Parole Association (APPA)
Correctional Leaders Association (CLA)
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD)
National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA)
National Center for State Courts (NCSC)
National District Attorneys Association (NDAA)
National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)

Each of the partners below represents the broader policy interests and concerns of communities and elected officials. They contribute their expertise and perspectives to developing metrics and messaging and providing connections to foster Justice Counts champions.

National Association of Counties Research Foundation (NACo)
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
National Governors Association

Research and Technical Assistance Partners

These partners have experience and expertise in policy areas and/or in the provision of technical assistance that supports the work of Justice Counts. Their work assists agencies with implementation, connects Justice Counts to other national criminal justice and data efforts, and aids in developing materials that effectively use data shared through Justice Counts.

CNA
NRI
RAND
University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute (UCCI)

Metric Development Partner

This partner manages the work of the Metrics and Technical Implementation Guide Committees to collaboratively develop Justice Counts metrics and the technical definitions required to implement them.

Measures for Justice

Technology Partner

This partner helps make it possible for agencies with varying technological capabilities to implement Justice Counts without a significant investment of money or staff time and support the development of Justice Counts Publisher and other onboarding tools.

Recidiviz

Vendors

These partners provide case management, management of people who commit crimes, or other data management services to criminal justice agencies to create integrations that allow participation in Justice Counts to be seamless for their customers.

Prosecutor by Karpel

Are you interested in becoming a Justice Counts partner organization? Email justicecounts@csg.org.

Metric Committees

The metric subcommittees convene on a set schedule and recommend what data are elevated to the national steering committee and BJA to improve the feasibility and utility of the Justice Counts initiative. The metric subcommittees are charged with ongoing review and consideration of the Justice Counts metrics to ensure that they evolve to meet the needs of decision-makers and policymakers. Justice Counts metrics are by the field and for the field, and the metric subcommittees have the awesome responsibility of making sure those metrics continue to be useful and timely.