Key Notes:
"democratization of data—a threat to our understanding of crime in 2016 as well as to our ability to discern changes in crime patterns over time"
"A comparison of the 2015 and 2016 reports reveals that some of those eliminated charts were crucial—especially when it comes to providing data at the state and local levels. Arrests by race, for example, are reported as a national statistic, but not by state or metropolitan area. Given the fraught relationship between police and communities of color, tracking changes in arrest rates by race is critical in understanding whether police reform efforts are working. We know from our own research that criminal justice data on race and ethnicity are already too sparse, and this move exacerbates that problem."
"If the administration wants to make gang-related criminal activity a priority in its discussions of public safety, it has a responsibility to continue producing and publicly sharing relevant data."
Notes on Author: Nancy G. LaVigne
"My colleagues and I at the Justice Policy Center aim to put objective research findings into the hands of policymakers and practitioners so they can make sound decisions about how best to improve the safety and well-being of communities across the country.
"directing groundbreaking research on prisoner reentry"