Why Mass Incarceration Persists

There are arguably several reasons why mass incarceration persists, but it is well known that prosecutors have played a significant role in creating and sustaining this problem. See generally, Angela J. Davis, Arbitrary Justice: The Power of the American Prosecutor (2007); David Garland, The Road to Ending Mass Incarceration Goes Through DA offices, The American Prospect (April 8, 2019); Emily Bazelon, Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration (2019).

A prosecutor is the most powerful official in the criminal justice system. She decides who will be charged, along with the amount and nature of the offense. Only a prosecutor can dismiss a case. Prosecutor offices are frequently decades behind in using technology and data analysis to inform policy.

I was a prosecutor with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., with nearly 6 years of criminal justice experience and over 5 years working with treatment programming. If I’d had data and analysis of my decision-making as a prosecutor, I’d have been better informed. From my experience, I knew the missing piece was technology.

I decided it was time to address the missing piece.

IPC was created based on my experience and after meeting with leaders of premiere prosecution reform entities and seeing that attorneys need “live” data to make informed policy decisions. Innovative Prosecution Consulting (IPC) addresses how prosecutors can stem mass incarceration and end racial disparities in their decision-making (charging, plea offer, bail, and sentence recommendations).

We want prosecutors to better understand the negative consequences of racial disparities in prosecutorial discretion. We want to show them how data and technology can support their work. 

In summation, we will work with prosecutorial offices to make an institutional and cultural change to our criminal justice system.