MEASUREMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Presently, the City does not collect data measuring the flow through the criminal justice system so that, for example, there are no publicly available statistics as to how many persons arrested are convicted or placed on parole nor is there any analysis as to why convictions do not occur.
69% of the respondents who expressed an opinion, strongly agreed or agreed that the criminal justice system would improve if the City regularly posted statistical measurements of its performance.
Would you direct that all department heads reporting to the Mayor abide by the long-ignored Charter provision that annual public reports be issued and use the bully pulpit to encourage those elements of the criminal justice system (the District Attorney and the Courts) which do not report to the Mayor to pool data so that your administration produces a coherent report of statistics portraying the performance of the system?
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This question is, at best, engendered of industrial strength naivete or, at worst, so unfair as to be unanswerable. Statistical tracking of the performance of the criminal justice system from arrest to final disposition would involve a like cooperation between various elements of the criminal justice system, many of which are not responsible to the Mayor, such as the judiciary which not only dispenses sentences but also regulates parole and probation and the office of the district attorney, an elected official, who may, or may not, enjoy good political relationships with the mayor. Despite the practical difficulty of responsibly answering the question, four of the candidates (Evans, Fattah, Knox and Nutter) did acknowledge that statistical reporting is needed. Brady waffled saying only that he “would consult with the District Attorney and Police Commissioner to determine how best to report performance”, not a comforting response to a question which calls for using “the bully pulpit” to encourage independent officials such as the District Attorney, to turn over data. Sadly, none of the candidates chose to comment on the portion of the question dealing with the City Charter requirement that department heads issue annual reports, a Charter provision that has fallen into disuse.
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