Advocates are examining Harris County’s recently established crime data dashboard, which aims to increase openness in the criminal justice system, because they believe it may mislead the public, especially about how bond policies affect public safety.
Data on dismissed cases, pending cases, and the amount of people re-arrested after being released on bail are all included in the dashboard, which was revealed by District Attorney Kim Ogg in October. Despite some commendations for its effort to make crime statistics more accessible, others contend that its ambiguity and some data exclusions could distort public perception and have a negative impact on policy decisions, particularly in communities of color.
Proponents contend that the information is provided without precise definitions or context, including the number of people released on bail who go on to commit another crime. For instance, the word “violent crime” lacks a clear definition, which could result in misunderstandings and contribute to unfavorable opinions about those released on bail, many of whom are Black and Brown.
Race affects outcomes at every level of the American legal system, from arrest to sentencing, according to national studies.
- Over-policing in communities of color has resulted in disproportionately high pretrial detention rates for Black and brown individuals compared to white individuals.
- Black defendants are more likely to face higher bail amounts, be denied bail and spend longer periods in jail pretrial:
- The over-policing of communities of color has led to people of color being detained pretrial at a higher rate than white people.
-
People of color, particularly Black individuals, are more likely to
receive higher bail amounts
and accordingly experience longer lengths of stay in jail.
According to Krish Gundu, Executive Director of Texas Jail Project, these exacerbated discrepancies destabilize people, raising the possibility that they may become involved with the justice system in the future and sustaining a vicious, unfair cycle of systematic harm. We would love to have demographic data included in the dashboard to promote openness, identify discrepancies, and hold the system accountable for resolving inequities, even if we did not specifically mention this in our letter to DA Ogg’s office.
According to Gundu, the public’s comprehension of racial inequities in Harris County’s judicial system is limited since DA Ogg’s data dashboard does not include demographic data.
In Harris County, misdemeanors have decreased, taxpayers have saved millions of dollars, and violent crime has not increased since bail reform was put into place in 2019. According to her, the majority of Harris County misdemeanor defendants have been exempt from paying a fee to be released from custody before to trial since 2019. Rather, they are freed on a personal recognizance bond, which entails a commitment to appear in court at a later time. They risk being arrested and fined if they fail to appear in court. That system was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge. The county consequently enacted legislation that eliminated monetary bail for the majority of those accused of misdemeanors.
According to Nikki Luellen, the ACLU of Texas’s policy and advocacy strategist for smart justice, the majority of inmates are peaceful. Some of them stay in jail because they are unable to pay bail, and they are unlikely to be caught again or become flight risks.
We re concerned because this seems to contribute to a climate of fear that leads to tough-on-crime policies that, that we know, have historically, always impacted Black people, Luellen said. The dashboard ought to serve as an open tool for addressing problems like racial and economic inequality, as well as jail overcrowding. But because the information is unclear or simply not there, we re robbed of that opportunity.
Luellen noted that the dashboard shows an aggregate number of bonds for thousands of cases without clearly defining the date range and the cases included. It also ignores the fact that people are presumptively innocent, and when most people are released pretrial, they return to court and stay out of trouble.
If we aren t careful, the dashboard can be used as a tool for propaganda, she said. The district attorney s office is very powerful. They make choices that have a real impact on people’s lives. They have the authority to dismiss a case or determine whether someone should be imprisoned. Thus, we desire openness.
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