Criminal Justice

Colorado Prosecutorial Dashboards

Capacity Building & Data-Driven Decision Making

Overview

This project is a partnership of The Evaluation Center, the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Project, the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council, and District Attorneys’ offices across the State of Colorado.

Evaluators work with District Attorneys’ offices to track progress toward greater efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness. In Phase 3, team members are scaling use of data dashboards statewide—and working to support stakeholders in using data to inform decision-making.

Evaluation Approach

Evaluators create data visualizations and conduct data analyses that support prosecutors in taking proactive, engaged responses to community problems that de-emphasize the use of incarceration, reduce racial and ethnic disparities in justice outcomes, build greater trust through community engagement, and increase prosecutorial transparency and accountability. Currently, data dashboards include information in eight areas: felony cases filed and declined; charging and filing; case resolution; diversion and deferrals; sentencing; defendant characteristics; victim characteristics and processes; staffing and caseloads.

Relevant Resources

Public facing data dashboards and analyses of racial/ethnic disparities at points of prosecutorial discretion are available at https://data.dacolorado.org/.

Here are a few key resources:

  • Brief report describing findings from the first two years of the project, including its impact on staff knowledge and attitudes.
  • Our toolkit filled with resources for DA offices looking to support data-driven decision-making.

Past newsletters:

 

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For additional information please contact Lauren Gase, PhD at lauren.gase@ucdenver.edu.

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Timeline

August 2021 – Present

(Work with The Evaluation Center began in Fall 2023)

 

POPULATION SERVED

Individuals involved in the criminal justice system

 

Funder

Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative

WEBSITE

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Partners

  • Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Project
  • Center for Criminal Justice at Loyola University Chicago
  • Florida International University
  • Colorado District Attorneys’ Council
Participating Judicial Districts (Map):

  • 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Gilpin, Jefferson)
  • 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Denver)
  • 3rd Judicial District (Huerfano, Las Animas)
  • 5th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake, Summit)
  • 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Archuleta, La Plata, San Juan)
  • 7th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, San Miguel)
  • 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Jackson, Larimer)
  • 9th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco)
  • 10th Judicial District (Pueblo)
  • 11th Judicial District (Chaffee, Custer, Fremont, Park)
  • 12th Judicial District (Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache)
  • 13th Judicial District (Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, Yuma)
  • 17th Judicial District (Adams, Broomfield)
  • 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, Lincoln)
  • 19th Judicial District (Weld)
  • 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office (Boulder)
  • 21st Judicial District (Mesa)
  • 22nd Judicial District (Dolores, Montezuma)