Presented below are the three primary goals of CJRI, which are part of the strategic plan and were created to meet the requirements in Act 179. They were developed to include goals that would create proactive and innovative research. This strategic plan guides the work of CJRI and helps prioritize requests for assistance from individuals in all three branches of the government and the community. Staff refer to it regularly and use it to measure progress and prioritize requests for research and support. CJRI updates the CJRI Board on goal process regularly at the CJRI board meetings, which meet, at a minimum, quarterly.
Goal 1
Establish centralized statewide criminal pretrial justice data reporting and collection system mandated by Act 179.
Objectives
- Review and identify the data across systems essential to measuring the operations and effectiveness of the criminal pretrial system.
- Develop recommendations to collect data necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal pretrial system while considering the resources and efforts required by different stakeholders to contribute data to the centralized system.
- Implement centralized statewide criminal pretrial data system in order to inform stakeholders on the effectiveness of the criminal pretrial system and share findings in the annual report the the legislature.
Goal 2
Identify baseline metrics across the criminal justice system that measure goals of the system, in addition to exploring other measures regarding fairness, justice, and equity that are important to communities and individuals impacted by the system.
Objectives
- Identify measures that assess the goals across different agencies and decision-points throughout the criminal justice system.
- Collaborate with key stakeholders, community groups, and individuals impacted by the criminal justice system to develop measures addressing their issues and concerns.
- Review research in criminological literature to identify innovative measures for the criminal justice system to examine.
Goal 3
Disseminate research and share data on criminal justice topics in a wide range of formats to assist policymakers and the public in making informed decisions.
Objectives
- Communicate information to a broad range of audiences.
- Clarify complex information from criminal justice research to make the information clearer and more actionable.