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Transforming the U.S. Criminal Justice System Through Data Innovation

The United States' criminal justice system is an intricate and sprawling network comprising 50 states, nearly 18,000 police departments, 16,000 courts, and around 7,000 prisons and jails. Each of these entities collects its own data, creating a vast, disjointed ecosystem of thousands of databases that do not communicate with each other. This fragmentation hampers the ability of policymakers, law enforcement officials, and corrections professionals to answer even basic questions—such as how many individuals are currently incarcerated. The consequences are dire, affecting not only policy decisions but also the lives of the 7 million people under correctional supervision or incarcerated.