Olympia, WA  – Measures for Justice (MFJ), a nonprofit that develops tools to help communities reshape the criminal justice system, kicked off a data transparency initiative with the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office (TCPAO) and a Community Advisory Board (CAB) yesterday. The partnership was created to establish shared policy goals and track prosecutor data using MFJ’s public platform, Commons, a tool that makes it easier for local communities to get, track, and understand criminal justice data.

Thurston County will become the first county in Washington state to deploy Commons and implement a policy goal developed with input from community leaders. 

The Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office is delighted to join forces with Measures for Justice to make our criminal justice data available to the public. This partnership aims to foster meaningful conversations in our community, pinpoint areas for enhancement, and assist in high-level decision-making. "I firmly believe that improved data leads to a more transparent and informed decision-making process with our traditional and non-traditional criminal justice partners, ultimately resulting in better outcomes for our community," said Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim.

Commons is unique because it:

• is co-created with members of the community via a Community Advisory Board;
• includes a policy goal that is mutually agreed upon with the community;
• enables any user to easily filter data in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, race, age, sex, etc.; and
• includes data that is updated regularly.

The Thurston County Community Advisory Board includes seven local community members with a diverse set of backgrounds, experiences, and voices who are committed to partnering with TCPAO to discuss what data needs to be shared with the public and what policy goals need to be set.

“Commons puts data directly into the hands of the leaders who can make change, bringing transparency and accountability to the criminal justice system,” said Amy Bach, CEO and founder of Measures for Justice. “This is an opportunity to build trust and accountability for all communities.”

Measures for Justice is a national, non-profit organization based in Rochester, NY, with a mission to change the future of criminal justice by developing tools that help communities and the institutions that serve them reshape how the system works.