Justice For All - #DecisionPoints
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Justice For All - #DecisionPoints
Justice For All is leading a project to identify the decision points in the Vermont justice system that may be informed by biases. We will then provide innovative methods to monitor and report on these important data points in our justice system. This request (phase one) for funds is to offset the cost of staffing and research to discover and prioritize these decision points. Follow-on phases will include monitoring and reporting, capability maturity, continuous monitoring, aggregation and correlation and analytics dashboard creation.
#DecisionPoints will:
1) Build a publicly accessible platform that collects this data and presents it for public viewing in a uniform and easily understood format.
2) Identify these decision points with law enforcement, states attorneys and persecutors, public defenders, judges, corrections officials and other parts of the criminal justice system.
3) Work with local officials to provide assistance in identifying data sources and developing administrative and technical methods to automate the ongoing and continuous collection of this data.
Biased decisions have historically impacted African Americans adversely in areas of employment, property ownership, housing, health care, education, political power, and much more. Racial disparities created by theses #DecisionPoints in the criminal justice system have by far been most impactful and play a detrimental role in all other systems. The United States has a 12.6% population of African Americans but 60% of male inmates are African American. Consider that African Americans are:
· six times more likely to be incarcerated than whites
· about one million of the 2.3 million people currently incarcerated
· 1 .6% of the Vermont population and over 10% of Vermont prison population
· six times more likely to be stopped by police in Vermont
· sentenced and incarcerated at 4 – 9 % higher rates than whites in Vermont
The collection of racially demographic data associated with critical discretionary decision points has lead us to better understand our challenge of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. One example of this is how the ongoing collection of traffic stop race data in Vermont has lead to a better understanding of racial disparities in or criminal justice system and has enabled us the ability to measure progress, though we have come to understand the problem worsening. Though periodic records requests and sporadic reports are useful, consistent, near real-time access to this raw data is needed to hold officials accountable and maintain public trust.
Transparency and accountability surrounding decision points in the justice system is paramount as we consider new and innovative ways to achieve parity in our criminal justice system. As we at Justice For All endeavor this initiative, we do so with expectations that we will be able to replicate our efforts in other systems such as employment, housing, education, health care access and access to the political process. Finally, it is our hope that Vermont will then be held out as a model state for the nation in our national struggle for racial justice reform.
Thank you!
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.Letter from the Birmingham Jail
-----
Justice For All is a racial justice organization, which identifies and dismantles institutionalized racism while facilitating healing in our communities.
Our mission is to ensure justice for ALL through community organizing, research, education, community policing, legislative reform, and judicial monitoring. We address systemic issues such as racially biased policing and inequities in the criminal justice system.
Our vision is a nation where a restorative dialogue enables us to become empowered and moves us beyond a legacy of racism and oppression, causing a change in the hearts and minds of current and future generations; where our judicial system and peace officers are accountable to our citizenry and committed to protecting and serving with cross cultural understanding and trust.
Justice For All is leading a project to identify the decision points in the Vermont justice system that may be informed by biases. We will then provide innovative methods to monitor and report on these important data points in our justice system. This request (phase one) for funds is to offset the cost of staffing and research to discover and prioritize these decision points. Follow-on phases will include monitoring and reporting, capability maturity, continuous monitoring, aggregation and correlation and analytics dashboard creation.
#DecisionPoints will:
1) Build a publicly accessible platform that collects this data and presents it for public viewing in a uniform and easily understood format.
2) Identify these decision points with law enforcement, states attorneys and persecutors, public defenders, judges, corrections officials and other parts of the criminal justice system.
3) Work with local officials to provide assistance in identifying data sources and developing administrative and technical methods to automate the ongoing and continuous collection of this data.
Biased decisions have historically impacted African Americans adversely in areas of employment, property ownership, housing, health care, education, political power, and much more. Racial disparities created by theses #DecisionPoints in the criminal justice system have by far been most impactful and play a detrimental role in all other systems. The United States has a 12.6% population of African Americans but 60% of male inmates are African American. Consider that African Americans are:
· six times more likely to be incarcerated than whites
· about one million of the 2.3 million people currently incarcerated
· 1 .6% of the Vermont population and over 10% of Vermont prison population
· six times more likely to be stopped by police in Vermont
· sentenced and incarcerated at 4 – 9 % higher rates than whites in Vermont
The collection of racially demographic data associated with critical discretionary decision points has lead us to better understand our challenge of racial disparities in the criminal justice system. One example of this is how the ongoing collection of traffic stop race data in Vermont has lead to a better understanding of racial disparities in or criminal justice system and has enabled us the ability to measure progress, though we have come to understand the problem worsening. Though periodic records requests and sporadic reports are useful, consistent, near real-time access to this raw data is needed to hold officials accountable and maintain public trust.
Transparency and accountability surrounding decision points in the justice system is paramount as we consider new and innovative ways to achieve parity in our criminal justice system. As we at Justice For All endeavor this initiative, we do so with expectations that we will be able to replicate our efforts in other systems such as employment, housing, education, health care access and access to the political process. Finally, it is our hope that Vermont will then be held out as a model state for the nation in our national struggle for racial justice reform.
Thank you!
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.Letter from the Birmingham Jail
-----
Justice For All is a racial justice organization, which identifies and dismantles institutionalized racism while facilitating healing in our communities.
Our mission is to ensure justice for ALL through community organizing, research, education, community policing, legislative reform, and judicial monitoring. We address systemic issues such as racially biased policing and inequities in the criminal justice system.
Our vision is a nation where a restorative dialogue enables us to become empowered and moves us beyond a legacy of racism and oppression, causing a change in the hearts and minds of current and future generations; where our judicial system and peace officers are accountable to our citizenry and committed to protecting and serving with cross cultural understanding and trust.
Organizer
Mark A. Hughes
Organizer
Marshfield, VT
