Comprehensive data warehouse is a unique statewide view into criminal justice data

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Office of Justice Data (OJD) announced the public release of the State’s first comprehensive data warehouse visualizing de-identified information on arrests in New Jersey from 2017 to 2022, including warrants, charges, dispositions, restitution, and fines, as well as demographic data. For the first time, the Criminal Justice Data Dashboard allows users to navigate – in a single repository—charts and figures of New Jersey’s criminal justice system from the time defendants enter the criminal justice system to the final disposition of the case. The dashboard is being released in compliance with N.J.S.A. 52:17B-111.1(1)(a) (the “Statute”), requiring the State to “collect, record, and analyze data regarding defendants in this State who are age 18 or older at the time of the commission of an alleged indictable offense or disorderly persons offense.”

“Under Governor Murphy, New Jersey continues to demonstrate its commitment to transparency and the importance of using data to make informed decisions, craft policy, and build public trust,” said Attorney General Platkin. “This unprecedented effort to consolidate criminal justice data spread across various State, County, and local government agencies will allow policy makers, stakeholders, advocates and any member of the public to view data on arrestees and continues our quest to ensure a fair, just, and equitable criminal justice system in New Jersey.”

“This Dashboard supports New Jerseyans by providing readily available, easily queried data for a wide range of policy evaluation applications and responses to data requests.” said Dr. Kristin Golden, Chief Data Officer for OJD. “With the launch of this dashboard, New Jersey has a state-wide snapshot of data on persons involved in the criminal justice system.”

The Statute’s mandate presented a significant challenge undertaken by the OJD.  The data released in the Criminal Justice Data Dashboard has been consolidated from across multiple records systems maintained by various State, County, and local government agencies.  The OJD has built a new, comprehensive statewide criminal justice data system that integrates records from multiple sources.  The comprehensive dashboard compiles data from each step in the process from arrest to disposition – including charges, case status, final dispositions, court fines, fees, and restitution amounts ordered, and limited information on victims of crime.

The Criminal Justice Data Dashboard is available at: www.njoag.gov/justicedata

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The Office of Justice Data coordinates data collection and analysis across the Department of Law and Public Safety, ensuring the Department meets various statutory obligations. Working with other criminal justice and law enforcement stakeholders, OJD helps to ensure that the office’s policymaking is rooted in data and rigorous statistical analysis. With a particular focus on criminal justice data, OJD promotes transparency and accountability through timely and accessible public data releases. Since it was established in 2021, OJD has supported the Office of the Attorney General and developed multiple dashboards that provide public transparency in police use of force, internal affairs complaints, major discipline, and law enforcement diversity.

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