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For Agencies

Criminal justice agencies in Founding and Implementation Grant states now have the exclusive opportunity to participate in Justice Counts! Participating in Justice Counts means  

  1. Leveraging cross-system consensus-based metrics that give policymakers the critical data they need to make more effective decisions about public safety;  
  2. Receiving technical assistance to help agencies share data easily, efficiently, and sustainably, and ensure the most crucial and up-to-date stories about their work stay in front of policymakers;    
  3. Utilizing a digital infrastructure that empowers agencies of all sizes and capacities to publish Justice Counts metrics; and  
  4. Having access to automatically populated data visualizations that illustrate clear, compelling narratives about individual agencies and system-wide trends and can be understood by data experts and general audiences alike. 

The CSG Justice Center provides participating agencies with step-by-step guidance to getting started, including training on how the Justice Counts digital infrastructure works and how to configure it for agency-specific needs like data definitions, database technology, or technical capacity. Agencies also receive guidance and support about how best to reduce the burden of sharing data on a recurring basis.  

Justice Counts relies on aggregate data that do not require a data share or other legal agreement for agencies to share. Therefore, agencies interested in participating in Justice Counts simply complete an opt-in form to get the process started. The form acknowledges the purpose of Justice Counts, how data participating agencies share will be utilized, and how they can withdraw from the program.

Once they opt in, agencies participate in series of customized technical assistance sessions referred to as onboarding. Onboarding onto the digital infrastructure will entail designating a point person/people to input data on behalf of the agency, selecting which metrics to share data on, determining (where necessary or able) the potential for transferring data from existing systems, and more. These sessions will guide agencies through the onboarding process, help to identify and hone each agency’s data-sharing strategy, and more. 

Once data are flowing into the digital infrastructure, agencies will be able to tell the story of the work their agency does; contextualize that work in system trends and activities happening in other sectors of the criminal justice system; save staff time and resources by making frequently-requested information available—and easily understandable—for state and local leaders, stakeholders, and the public; learn from other agencies and stakeholders that have similar data and definitions; and advocate for what their agency needs to increase its success. 

Is your agency ready to opt–in? Email justicecounts@csg.org to get started!