The Broward County State Attorney’s office will now publicly share data about who they prosecute and how they prosecute.
Releasing the data, known as Prosecutorial Performance Indicators, is part of a national project pushing for more transparency in the criminal justice system. The indicators are displayed on an interactive dashboard on the State Attorney’s website.
The group behind the project — a collaboration between Florida International University and Loyola University in Chicago — hope to get more state attorneys to use the database.
The data includes racial and ethnic disparities in the court cases pursued by the State Attorney’s Office, as well as timeliness of case processing and resource allocation. The dashboard also details the racial makeup of the prosecutor’s own office.
“This project isn't to display that we're perfect. This is actually to display the gross inequities in our criminal justice system and how we can fix it,” said Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor.
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Over 30 State Attorneys from around the country participate in the transparency initiative, but Pryor is among only five that share this data publicly in Florida.
"Data transparency is critical to understanding the dynamics within our criminal justice system. It's not merely about unveiling information; it's about making that information more accessible and understandable to impact communities positively,” said Melba Pearson, an attorney specializing in civil rights and criminal law who co-manages the project.
“Through the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Dashboard, we aim to empower communities with evidence-backed insights, fostering informed conversations and driving meaningful change in our pursuit of a fairer justice system."
Pryor and Pearson unveiled the project to dozens of community members gathered at the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center Thursday night. The pair answered questions regarding the criminal justice system and how residents could push for more transparency from other agencies.
“My hope for this project really is for us to really dig into how the criminal justice system works and how we can change and dismantle some of the old practices that just have proven not to work,” Pryor said.
