Creation of an integrated criminal justice database for St. Louis, MO to track persons arrested for offenses involving a firearm. The requested assistance will enable the city to develop, implement, and evaluate the integrated criminal justice data base over a 12 month period.
Creation of an integrated criminal justice database for St. Louis, MO to track persons arrested for offenses involving a firearm. The requested assistance will enable the city to develop, implement, and evaluate the integrated criminal justice data base over a 12 month period.
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Chosen Provider: Regional Justice Information Services
Budget Allocated: 19770.00
a:26:{s:32:"field_what_event_has_occurred_th";s:531:"During the course of discussions about the creation of the Circuit Court Armed Offender Docket, it became apparent that an integrated criminal justice database, of the kind described, would be essential to inform the discussion, evaluate the current criminal justice processing of armed offenders, and evaluate the success of the Armed Offender Docket, once it is established. “Success” of the docket entails greater certainty, consistency, and, importantly, transparency in the criminal justice processing of armed offenders.";s:32:"field_what_do_you_want_to_achiev";s:140:"We want to implement the integrated criminal justice database and evaluate its usefulness to leaders of the local criminal justice system. ";s:32:"field_what_will_happen_if_this_n";s:112:"We will continue to lack essential information for assessing the criminal justice processing of armed offenders.";s:32:"field_what_is_the_gap_between_wh";s:166:"We do not have adequate information on the performance of the criminal justice system as a whole in the processing of persons arrested for crimes involving a firearm.";s:32:"field_do_you_have_any_data_to_su";s:1112:"That is precisely the problem that prompts our request for assistance. We do not currently have the means to address fundamental questions about the processing of armed offenders. It is currently possible, with some effort, to track an individual’s progress through the various stages of case processing. That is done quite frequently, especially for adjudication and sentencing purposes. What is far more difficult, but no less important for policy and performance evaluation, is to follow a cohort of cases through the system from apprehension through corrections. As a result, for all practical purposes, some very basic questions about the behavior of the local criminal justice system cannot be answered. Policymakers and the public often ask questions such as “How likely is it that someone picked up for a gun crime goes to court or is sentenced to probation or commits a new crime while under community supervision? How do these probabilities differ according to the offender’s age or prior criminal record? The answers given are typically in the form of anecdotes, which satisfies no one. ";s:32:"field_have_there_been_previous_a";s:169:"Not to our knowledge in St. Louis. Our reading of the rather sparse literature on similar efforts elsewhere suggests, tersely, that many have tried, few have succeeded.";s:32:"field_have_you_sought_tta_before";s:3:"No.";s:32:"field_who_will_assume_leadership";s:402:"Eddie Roth, Chief of Operations, city of St. Louis, will be responsible for overall coordination of the project.
Richard Rosenfeld, Curators Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri – St. Louis, will lead the proposed evaluation of the integrated database to monitor the progress of persons arrested for firearm-related offenses through the criminal justice process.
";s:32:"field_how_did_you_learn_about_nt";s:32:"Denise O’Donnell, BJA Director";s:32:"field_what_are_your_organization";s:973:"The Mayor of St. Louis is a key leader in the effort to create an Armed Offender Docket in the Circuit Court and the integrated database to track firearm offenders through the criminal justice system. The leaders of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Circuit Attorney’s Office, Missouri’s 22nd Judicial Circuit (St. Louis city), and the state probation and parole office for St. Louis all have participated in discussions of the creation and operation of the Armed Offender Docket. All are committed to the creation of the integrated criminal justice database to track firearm offenders through the criminal justice system. As part of a formal Public Safety Partnership between the city, police department, and University of Missouri – St. Louis, Richard Rosenfeld has led the effort to plan and design the integrated database. From the beginning, all of the partners have operated as a cohesive team to plan the special docket and design the database.";s:32:"field_what_are_organization_s_we";s:197:"We lack the resources to bring the integrated database through the implementation phase and evaluate its usefulness to the local criminal justice system, which has prompted this BJA NTTAC proposal.";s:32:"field_what_opportunities_does_th";s:279:"An important growth opportunity is the interest of criminal justice officials in Kansas City in creating a similar Armed Offender Docket and integrated database. These officials will closely monitor the proposed research for purposes of developing allied systems in Kansas City.";s:32:"field_what_are_the_challenges_th";s:59:"The major challenge is the lack of resources, as mentioned.";s:32:"field_how_will_this_technical_as";s:579:"The integrated database will enable criminal justice officials, other policymakers, and, through public reports, the community to gain insight into the criminal justice processing of persons arrested for crimes involving the unlawful use of firearms. At present, such understanding is impeded by the separate information silos attached to the different criminal justice agencies. The current fragmented information systems make it very difficult to evaluate the performance of the criminal justice system as a whole in addressing the problem of firearm violence in St. Louis. ";s:32:"field_what_is_your_overarching_g";s:187:"The overarching goal is to create and evaluate an integrated database for monitoring the criminal justice processing of persons arrested for crimes involving the unlawful use of firearms.";s:32:"field_please_list_at_least_two_o";s:146:"(1) Create the integrated database.
(2) Evaluate the utility of the database in tracking firearm offenders through the criminal justice system.
";s:32:"field_as_a_result_of_this_tta_wh";s:142:"With BJA assistance, the integrated database should be created and evaluation of its usefulness to criminal justice agencies will be underway.";s:32:"field_who_will_be_participating_";s:304:"The primary operational participants include Eddie Roth, Chief of Operations, city of St. Louis; Richard Rosenfeld, University of Missouri – St. Louis; and technical staff of the Regional Justice Information Services (REJIS), who will be responsible for creating and supporting the integrated database.";s:32:"field_what_do_participants_need_";s:182:"At the risk of redundancy, the participants need startup funds to implement the integrated database and conduct an initial evaluation of its usefulness to criminal justice end users.";s:32:"field_what_activities_experience";s:251:"Knowing more about the experiences (both successful and unsuccessful) of other criminal justice professionals who have attempted to create similar information systems would assist our team in capitalizing on prior successes and avoiding past mistakes.";s:32:"field_who_supports_you_in_this_e";s:335:"Francis Slay, Mayor, city of St. Louis
Jennifer Joyce, Circuit Attorney, City of St. Louis
Sam Dotson, Chief, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
Judge Phillip Heagney and Judge Jack Garvey, Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit
Nancy McCarthy, Director of Missouri Probation and Parole (St. Louis)
William Powell, Director, REJIS
";s:32:"field_who_are_key_stakeholders_p";s:148:"Key end users and IT staff of the Circuit Attorney’s Office, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Circuit Court, and MO Probation and Parole.";s:32:"field_who_are_key_stakeholders_o";s:62:"Office of the District Attorney, Jackson Co., MO (Kansas City)";s:32:"field_are_there_any_local_govern";s:77:"Mayor Francis Slay, city of St. Louis, MO
Mayor Sly James, Kansas City, MO
";s:32:"field_how_will_your_organization";s:685:"Should the implementation of the integrated database prove successful, we will seek to reallocate resources within the St. Louis public safety budget to support the database over time. That budget, however, is limited and is unlikely to grow appreciably in the near future. Assuming the initial evaluation of the database, based on the current request, is promising, we will seek additional BJA support to conduct a more thorough evaluation of the utility of the database during its first few years of operation. We welcome an ongoing partnership with BJA to fully implement an integrated criminal justice database in St. Louis and replicate similar information systems elsewhere. ";s:32:"field_what_other_resources_do_yo";s:1042:"Our most important resources are the commitment of local political and criminal justice leaders to the creation and evaluation of the database and community support for this endeavor, as evidenced by editorial support from the major daily newspaper (see the appendices to the accompanying proposal). We also enjoy the ongoing technical support provided by REJIS, which also supports criminal justice information systems in Kansas City. The local criminal justice agencies have participated fully in regular meetings with REJIS staff held over the past several months to design the database. The associated staff time and effort are contributed in kind. Through the St. Louis Public Safety Partnership, Richard Rosenfeld has contributed research expertise to this effort, at no cost. Finally, legislation to establish the Armed Offender Docket and provide funds to defray prosecution costs and for pretrial supervision of persons arrested for crimes involving firearms was recently introduced in the Missouri Assembly (outcome pending). ";}