FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County prosecutors using data to drive cases. This month, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano unveiled a new criminal court case dashboard. It gives the public a look inside the courtroom and prosecutors an eye into crime trends.
Think of it like one phase of the ‘Moneyball’ of court cases, prosecutions driven by data instead of hunches. This is an idea that Descanso has believed in for years: that data can lead to more effective prosecution and better outcomes.
“I started looking at data way back when I was a federal prosecutor, a line attorney,” Descano said in his office. “Back in 2011.”
To Descano, data in court cases is not a novel concept. To him, it’s a no-brainer.
“We can see what’s going on in the courthouse, and what is going on in the street, we don’t have to rely on hunches,” he said.
This month, his office launched the latest in their court analytics drive: an online criminal court case database. It shows anyone who wants to see a population-level look at what is going on in Fairfax County courtrooms.
The database breaks down charges to prosecutions. It shows the demographics of suspects, as well.
It’s a bold effort in transparency.
“We know there are a lot of people with questions about the criminal justice system, a lot of people don’t know what’s going on. It’s a black box,” he said. “Our goal is to build trust with the community.”
However, transparency is only one part. For the second part, Descano fired up the database on a screen for us.
“Who and what age are you at risk for committing crime?” he pointed to graphs on the screen. “The numbers are gonna show you, you’re at more risk in that 24-35 age range.”
This look at the data is the second part. Descano said it allows him and his prosecutors to determine where to put resources. For example, he pointed out that the dashboard shows the majority of felonies in the county are assault, larceny, and narcotics.
“Look these may not be major crimes, but these are our most plentiful ones,” he said pointing out the three biggest felony categories. “So we are gonna take our resources and put them towards this and programs to help.”
For a numbers guy like Descano, it’s the latest step in bringing the law up to speed with technology.
“Whereas the law is always lagging, it was more old school and more intuitive,” he said. “That quite frankly in the 21st century doesn’t work anymore.”
Crunching the numbers instead of the hunches.