JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – State Attorney Melissa Nelson says she made a promise that there would be more transparency at her office, and it’s happening in digital form.
It’s a dashboard that’s been developed over the last three years. Now, people can see patterns of prosecution by going to a website.
Thirty-three prosecutorial performance indicators are measured to express the success of the prosecutor’s office, such as addressing serious crime, time management as well as racial and ethnic differences.
When asked whether she believes it will give the public a greater sense of transparency from the prosecutor’s office, Nelson responded: “That is certainly the primary goal. We committed to being transparent from the beginning of this work.”
Nelson’s office will be looking for patterns among:
- Diversion programs
- Gun crimes
- Racial disparities
- Income
Since January 2017, Nelson’s office has had an accurate diversion and placement ranging from 18 to 50%, and it’s improving to ensure there’s no bias.
Tampa, Chicago and Milwaukee are the only other cities that have the database.
“We are going to be able to, in terms of our operations, watch the trend and then adjust to make sure we are hitting the success points that we want to make,” Nelson said.
Nelson said she is grateful to everyone that helped create the database. The John T. and Catherine D. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge funded the project.