Fairness and equality in the criminal justice system have been important to me since I was a child. I saw firsthand how unfair it could be to some members of society. I believe there is no issue of greater importance in the justice system than ensuring there is fairness, equality and justice for all.
When I was elected state attorney, I asked the Prosecutorial Performance Indicators team at Florida International University to partner with our office to help us increase transparency and accountability by objectively measuring and analyzing prosecutorial practices that affect public safety and justice in our community.
Today, as a result of that partnership, I am launching a robust public dashboard at browardsao.com/ppi_dashboard that displays performance indicators about the Broward State Attorney’s Office and how we handle the cases presented to us by law enforcement.
While the dashboard presents a lot of data available for analysis, I am particularly proud to point out that there is no significant difference in the outcomes of criminal cases when looking at a defendant’s race. One contributing factor leading to that outcome may be the diversity in leadership in our office. The analysis shows that 75% of the supervisors and senior leadership in the Broward State Attorney’s Office are people of color and/or women. That diversity is also reflected in our line prosecutors.
We know that poor people are more likely to be victims of crime and that the crime rate in poorer neighborhoods is higher than in the wealthiest neighborhoods in our community. That indicator is measured by comparing the 20% of zip codes with the highest and lowest incomes in the county. And yet there is almost no difference, less than 1% in the last quarter of 2022, in dismissal rates of cases against people charged with crimes in the poorest communities versus those charged in the wealthiest communities.
A major decision I made in my first year in office was to shift our resources to fighting violent crimes and offenses that victimize the most vulnerable people, because my top priority is keeping our whole community safe. I am happy to report that this policy decision has been a success, and the backlog in pending felony cases has gone down every quarter since the beginning of last year. This brings finality for victims and their families and holds those who break our laws accountable for their actions.
The transparent nature of this groundbreaking dashboard has also identified areas where we can improve. As we move forward, we are committed to:
- Ensuring a timely disposition of cases while not compromising the due process rights of the accused and pursuing justice for victims and victims’ families;
- Working with our partners in the justice system to decrease the incarceration differences among income groups and/or those represented by private counsel versus public defenders/regional conflict counsel;
- Partnering with law enforcement to decrease the violent victimization of the poor.
The dashboard further inspires us to continue developing innovative programs. These include our Economic Empowerment Today Diversion Program with OIC of South Florida, which offers job training to nonviolent offenders, and the Court-to-College Program in partnership with Broward College, which also helps nonviolent offenders get practical educational skills. Programs like these will help people develop job skills and keep nonviolent offenders out of jail and prison.
These are not liberal or conservative policies; they are old-fashioned (or newly fashioned) commonsense public-safety programs. Studies have consistently shown that, the more educated an individual is, the less likely they are to commit a crime.
The Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Dashboard that we are unveiling on our website today is a crucial step toward increased transparency and accountability in our criminal justice system. The dashboard will be updated several times a year with the most recent data from our office. While the criminal justice system is not perfect, and will never be perfect, the dashboard will allow us to see the trends, identify the issues, and develop solutions to those issues. My goal is to pursue justice in a more fair and equitable sense while not compromising the safety of our community. I am proud of the dedicated public servants in the Broward State Attorney’s Office and the openness that every stakeholder in the criminal justice system has demonstrated in trying to improve upon our system of justice.
The work we have been doing is good, but there will always be room for improvement. On any worthwhile journey, it is important to know your starting point in order to choose the best path to get to where you want to go.
I believe that the transparency this dashboard affords us and the public is the right first step toward improvement, understanding and confidence in our criminal justice system.
Harold F. Pryor is state attorney of Broward County.
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