Harris County’s newly launched crime data dashboard, designed to improve transparency in the criminal justice system, is being scrutinized by advocates who claim it may mislead the public, particularly regarding the impact of bond policies on public safety.
The dashboard, unveiled by District Attorney Kim Ogg in October, includes data on pending cases, dismissed cases and the number of people re-arrested after being released on bond. Critics argue that its lack of clarity and certain data omissions could skew public understanding and influence harmful policy decisions, especially within communities of color, despite some praises for its attempt to make crime data more accessible.
Advocates argue the data, which includes the number of individuals released on bond who later commit another offense, is presented without clear definitions or context. The term “violent crime,” for example, is not clearly defined, leading to potential misinterpretations that could feed into negative perceptions of people released on bond, many of whom are Black and Brown.
National research consistently shows that race determines outcomes at every stage of the U.S. justice system—from arrest to sentencing.
- Over-policing in communities of color has resulted in disproportionately high pretrial detention rates for Black and brown individuals compared to white individuals.
- Black defendants are more likely to face higher bail amounts, be denied bail and spend longer periods in jail pretrial:
- The over-policing of communities of color has led to people of color being detained pretrial at a higher rate than white people.
- People of color, particularly Black individuals, are more likely to receive higher bail amounts and accordingly experience longer lengths of stay in jail.
“These compounded disparities destabilize individuals, increasing their likelihood of future justice involvement and perpetuating a vicious, unjust cycle of systemic harm,” said Krish Gundu, Executive Director of Texas Jail Project. “While we did not include this specific recommendation in our letter to DA Ogg’s office, we would love to see the dashboard include demographic data to provide transparency, uncover disparities, and hold the system accountable for addressing inequities.”
Gundu says DA Ogg’s data dashboard excludes demographic information, limiting public understanding of racial disparities in Harris County’s justice system.
“Since implementing bail reform in 2019, misdemeanors have declined in Harris County, taxpayers have saved millions of dollars, and the county has not seen an increase in violent crime. Since 2019, most people who are charged with misdemeanors in Harris County don’t have to pay money to be released from jail before trial,” she said. “Instead, they are released on a personal recognizance bond, where they promise to show up to court later. If they don’t show up to court, they can be fined and arrested. A federal judge found that system unconstitutional. As a result, the county implemented reforms ending cash bail for most people charged with misdemeanors.”
Nikki Luellen, the policy and advocacy strategist on smart justice for the ACLU of Texas, says most people in jail are nonviolent. They are unlikely to be rearrested or become flight risks, and some remain in jail because they struggle to afford bail.
“We’re concerned because this seems to contribute to a climate of fear that leads to tough-on-crime policies that, that we know, have historically, always impacted Black people,” Luellen said. “The dashboard should be a tool for openness to address issues such as jail overcrowding, and racial and economic disparities. But because the information is unclear or simply not there, we’re robbed of that opportunity.”
Luellen noted that the dashboard shows an aggregate number of bonds for thousands of cases without clearly defining the date range and the cases included. It also ignores the fact that people are presumptively innocent, and when most people are released pretrial, they return to court and stay out of trouble.
“If we aren’t careful, the dashboard can be used as a tool for propaganda,” she said. “The district attorney’s office is very powerful. They make decisions that literally change people’s lives. They can dismiss a case or decide if a person should be incarcerated. So we want transparency.”
