Our justice system is broken. Let’s fix it.
Building data-informed, people-centered solutions
for a more fair and effective justice system
What we do
America’s justice system is broken by almost every measure. Over 10 million people cycle through jails each year, mostly for low-level, non-violent offenses. Around 2 million people are living behind bars on any given day, with hundreds of thousands held without a conviction while awaiting trial. This has a particularly devastating impact on minority and low-income communities, which are disproportionately represented in the criminal legal system.
At Justice Innovation Lab, we help communities improve public safety while reducing harmful outcomes, including unnecessary incarceration and unjust racial and economic disparities. Our team of data scientists, human-centered design experts, former prosecutors, policymakers, and community advocates supports local leaders in developing effective solutions to criminal justice challenges.
Learn how our data-informed approach in Charleston, SC has helped reduce disparities in their community.
How we do it
Justice Innovation Lab partners with decision-makers who have the power to make impactful changes to the criminal legal system. We collaborate extensively with local prosecutors, who bring 95% of all criminal cases in the United States and have widespread authority and discretion to drive reforms. We also work with judges, police departments, health departments, and community organizations, who each bring unique capabilities to foster positive change.
Working with our local partners and their data, we integrate systems mapping, data analysis, human-centered design, and interactive workshops to drive innovative change through our collaborative approach. Insights gained through our partnerships allow us to both generate solutions tailored to individual jurisdictions and develop broadly-applicable and scalable interventions.
Data-informed solutions
Justice Innovation Lab harnesses the power of data to build innovative solutions to criminal justice issues and measure the impact of interventions. This work relies on a deep understanding of data gained through an iterative and collaborative process with local jurisdictions. Our data team cleans, standardizes, analyzes, and visualizes data to effectively communicate findings and facilitate change.
Justice Innovation Lab also strives to promote the value of data in the criminal legal system in order to help actors understand why data literacy and accuracy are important, and how data can be used to improve outcomes. Through our Knowledge Hub, we share important research and insights of interest to anyone involved in data-informed reform.
Featured news
