Knowing More, but Accomplishing What? Developing Approaches To Measure the Effects of Information-Sharing on Criminal Justice Outcomes

• NCJ Number: 251141
• Author(s): Brian A. Jackson; Lane F. Burgette; Caroline Stevens; Claude Messan Setodji; Erinn Herberman; Stephanie Ann Kovalchik; Katie Mugg; Meagan Cahill; Jessica Hwang; Joshua Lawrence Traub
• Date Published: 2017
• Length: 75 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-IJ-CX-K001
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Evaluation
• Award: Developing and Testing Analytics to Evaluate Information Sharing Systems

Annotation

This research developed approaches for linking the use of a suite of information-sharing tools across local, State, and Federal public safety agencies to measures of law enforcement outcomes and the bridging of criminal justice efforts across multiple jurisdictions.

Abstract

The information-sharing tools examined compose the Automated Regional Justice Information System (ARIJ) used by local, State, and Federal public safety agencies in San Diego County. This report should be of interest to criminal justice practitioners, policymakers, civil society organizations, and members of the public interested in information-sharing activities for criminal justice and public safety purposes. The results of this study, despite being correlational, support the value of information-sharing among multiple public safety agencies in several ways. Sharing information through ARIJS systems was associated with greater multi-agency involvement with specific offenders, which is consistent with the goal of reducing the effect of jurisdictional boundaries on agency activities and effectiveness. Data-sharing via BOLO notifications was associated with increases in the number of crime cases connected to suspects. This is an important outcome, given the role of serial offenders in a significant percentage of crimes. The amount of use of sharing tools, measured across a large user population, correlated with numbers and probabilities of cross-jurisdictional arrests. Although all the relationships identified were correlational because of the nature of the available evaluation designs, the results show a consistent result of information-sharing contributing to achieving criminal justice goals. Study results suggest ways that new data systems could be better designed or existing systems could be improved, so as to make analysis of the shared data easier. 3 figures, 1 table, appended interview questions, and a 67-item bibliography