Corrections_Today_November_December_2020_Vol.82_No.6

nEWS&vIEWS

Nature of the problem

Many jails use obsolete systems built by companies that have gone out of business or coded in defunct programming languages that do not conform to modern informa- tion standards. 6 It is unsurprising, therefore, that county jail data has been described as “often fragment- ed, incomplete, and unreliable.” 7 Furthermore, many jails tend to use data in an ad hoc fashion, focusing on particular issues of importance as they arise rather than leverag - ing these data to operate pursuant to a comprehensive strategic plan. Adding to the challenge is the fact that jail staff are often overworked, and the jails themselves are under- resourced. As a result, there is much untapped potential for jails to become more data-informed. Ultimately, leadership is key to achieving a data-informed jail — one that maximizes the power of information to improve

to generate findings that will inform NIJ’s research agendas moving for - ward. In response to the significant challenges and opportunities dis - cussed above, the data-informed jails research aimed to produce a better understanding of the obstacles jails face in fully leveraging internal and system data to improve outcomes and what is needed to overcome these obstacles. Methodology The RAND-DU team assembled a group of 15 subject matter experts to participate in a two-day workshop. Participants included correctional administrators, researchers, and rep - resentatives from relevant national organizations. Before the workshop, par - ticipants received literature on jail information systems and the benefits of data-informed decision-making, as a resource and discussion guide. During the workshop, RAND-DU staff conducted highly structured exercises with the group to help identify and elicit information about the most pressing problems in jail settings. The group then as - sessed how these problems could be addressed. Discussions focused on several major areas relevant to leadership and organizational issues, procuring and implementing a jail management system, data collection and analysis, data application, and information sharing. From these discussions, the research team identified a set of discrete “needs” — a term used to describe a specific area to be addressed, tied to either solving a problem or taking advantage of an opportunity for better system

Despite the volume of acces - sible data, jails traditionally have not been viewed as information processing organizations. Although there are exceptions, most jails do not consistently operate in a data- informed manner, and therefore cannot fully leverage the power of data to support decision-making, inform policies, and improve both operations and outcomes. For exam - ple, searches for state and local jail data on a data portal in the website of Measures for Justice , an organi- zation that collects, standardizes, and publicizes county-level criminal justice data from across the United States, establish significant gaps in jail performance data available from jurisdictions. 4 Some jails still operate with - out the benefit of an automated information management system. 5

not only operational effectiveness and ef - ficiency, but also inmate outcomes. Research purpose The joint RAND- DU collaboration, “Data-Informed Jails: Challenges and Op - portunities,” is part of a multiyear research effort, the Priority Criminal Justice Needs Initiative, to identify in - novations in technology, policy, and practice that could benefit the crimi - nal justice sector. 8 The initiative, developed and supported by NIJ, aims

istock/z_wei

16 — November/December 2020 Corrections Today