CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Criminal Justice Research Institute was established by Act 179 (2019) following a recommendation from the Criminal Pretrial Task Force. The state of Hawai’i recognized a need to develop a research organization that could examine all aspects of the criminal justice system in order to help the state connect research and data in a comprehensive way. The criminal justice system is made up of several agencies, organizations, data systems, files, and rules. In order to study the state’s criminal justice system and provide information on trends and evaluations, researchers must find ways to link these sources together. The scope of CJRI’s responsibilities can be found under HRS § 614-2.
CJRI is prioritizing requirements established in law. Act 179 charged CJRI with establishing a “centralized statewide criminal pretrial justice data reporting and collection system” (HRS § 614-3). CJRI is currently engaged in work to fulfill this requirement, which CJRI will use to track and monitor performance indicators for the criminal pretrial system.
CJRI is unique from many other research branches within the state because staff do not conduct research on behalf of one agency, and instead considers the “big picture” by examining the entire system as a whole.
Contact Us
Email the Criminal Justice Research Institute at: CJRI@courts.hawaii.gov