Washington FY24 SJSP

Under the 2023 State Justice Statistics Program, the Washington Statistical Analysis Center is requesting grant funding for two core-capacity building projects and one special-emphasis project. Projects will evaluate racial and ethnic disparity and help find where these inequalities are within the criminal justice system. An assessment of potential disparities in the criminal justice system will be a useful tool for policymakers and the public to assess the disproportionality. The relations amongst these factors - race, culture, sex, and crime and their intersections - can provide a greater understanding of how these factors perpetuate racial disparities within the criminal justice system. Specifically, delineating the unique contributions of race with arrest, prosecution, conviction, sentencing, and incarceration rates is an important first step in developing targets for prevention. Findings from this endeavor will help to provide accurate and timely information about arrest, prosecution, conviction, sentencing, and incarceration rates. Data-driven decision making remains a priority, with policymakers regularly seeking input from researchers on a variety of topics that will require cross-sector research. Data is crucial for communities, researchers, and policymakers to understand racial and ethnic fairness in the criminal justice system and help reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system. Funds are also being requested to expand the Justice Data Warehouse to include a new data source – the Washington State Patrol data, which includes criminal history records. Additionally, funds are being requested to improve access to data and information through a website redesign.