Want to be a 21st century prosecutor’s office?

Is your office struggling with using data? Does it feel overwhelming because there is so much to fix but it’s unclear where to start? If you answered yes, then your office is like many of the other 2,400+ offices nation-wide.  

Many offices have several “pain points” around utilization, innovation, data, and technology.  Offices want to use technology and analysis (e.g. data dashboards) but they often lack inhouse expertise and capacity. As a result, an office becomes paralyzed and can’t move forward. 

Below are some common problems with suggestions on how to tackle them.

Lack of Data Capacity:

Pain Point 1: 

Most offices have inadequate case management systems and no internal data analytics team. Many don’t know how to collect or analyse data about decision-making (plea offers, bail, and sentencing), case processing (e.g. arrest to sentencing), or treatment program efficacy. 

To get started, the first step is to work with an entity like Innovative Prosecution Consulting (IPC). At IPC, we start where the office “is” and make a customized data project plan based on the office’s most urgent priorities and needs, taking into account their resources. 

Funding Resources & Culture:

Pain Point 2:

Many offices don’t have enough funds in their budgets to hire an internal or outside data team.  Luckily, IPC can assist an office in drafting state and federal grant proposals and help apply for funding for data projects.

However, even if an office has financial resources, they may struggle to get their staff to adopt innovation and data technology.  Data is critical in so many ways, but it is an area in which many lawyers are uncomfortable because it’s simply not part of their training or daily practice. 

That’s where we come in. IPC knows how to establish “buy-in” from elected officials, mid-level management, and administrative staff. Developing a small internal team of lawyers and administrative staff to “champion” the office’s data program is essential, for example.  Also, it’s critical to develop incentives for staff to collect data and use dashboards. 

The key is to show staff how innovation and technology can make their jobs easier — creating organizational “buy in.”

Lack of PR Outreach: 

Pain Point 3:
Some offices are understandably concerned about releasing “bad” data or they don’t know how to effectively and compellingly market their accomplishments. 

IPC assists offices in communicating their wins. We can support highlighting how the office is keeping communities safe — and areas where the office can undoubtedly do better. There is always room for improvement — safety and fairness is a journey, not a destination. Having a strategic PR campaign with potent social media, podcasts, and press releases which tell a captivating, easy to understand narrative is essential. 

To learn more about our work at IPC, take a look at www.reformagents.com or  email Allison C. Pierre, Esq. at acp@pierrelegal.com.

Image Credit: Inozemtsev Konstantin / Shutterstock.com © 2021