Tag: Reform

Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative-Breaking the 71%:  A Path Toward Racial Equity in the Criminal Legal System

OAG and OPD Release Groundbreaking Report on Racial Disparities in Maryland’s Criminal Legal System

Attorney General Anthony Brown, in partnership with Public Defender Natasha Dartigue, is proud to announce the release of the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative’s inaugural report, “Breaking the 71%: A Path Toward Racial Equity in the Criminal Legal System.”

This comprehensive study addresses the alarming reality that Black Marylanders, while comprising only 30% of our state’s population, represent 71% of those incarcerated in our correctional facilities—the highest such disparity nationwide.

The report presents 18 evidence-based recommendations to reform law enforcement practices, criminal sentencing, health services, detention policies, reentry programs, education, and youth justice. These recommendations reflect input from state agencies, community organizations, academic institutions, and directly impacted individuals.  View the fu​ll report

Research at the DAO – PhilaDAO Data Dashboard

Research at the DAO
The DATA Lab at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) uses police, court, and other data streams to support a wide range of research on the criminal legal system. Following are DAO DATA Lab grant-funded partnerships, DAO research publications and published and ongoing studies with research partners. We work with external partners across all phases of the research arc to help develop impactful interventions, evaluations, and scholarship. This includes discussions around data sharing, data use agreements, and facilitating research involving Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs) and DAO personnel.
— Read on data.philadao.com/Research

Lowering the Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility: Consequences for Juvenile Crime | Journal of Quantitative Criminology

This was open access at the time of the posting.

The questions of when and how society should sanction juvenile offenders are subject to ongoing political and scientific debates. In this study, we use a p
— Read on link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10940-025-09604-y