Cohort 2025
ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts
Expanding Access to Criminal Legal System Public Records for Accountability
Boston, MA
Government agencies in the criminal legal system routinely collect data to carry out their functions, operate programs, and meet reporting requirements. Despite the fact that many of these data are legally public, they are often difficult to obtain, expensive to analyze, and inaccessible to the communities most affected by the criminal legal system. In response, the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts (ACLUFM) launched the Data for Justice Project to collate, analyze, and visualize public records in the criminal legal system obtained through direct requests to local and state agencies, including the Boston Police Department and Massachusetts State Police. This data archive includes information about surveillance technology, officer misconduct, SWAT deployments, and traffic stops—a collection of materials that has helped advocates, attorneys, and community organizers identify and address racial disparities throughout the criminal legal system. Despite its value, the archive is not currently user friendly, making navigating the records challenging for users without technical expertise.
With Catalyst grant funding, ACLUFM will build a public-facing searchable database to make this growing archive more accessible and actionable for community members, researchers, and advocates. The project will involve processing tens of thousands of data files to extract key information, designing a sleek user interface with input from stakeholders, and ultimately launching the database. ACLUFM will also host public workshops to train users to navigate and use the database for advocacy. By removing barriers to using public records, the project will help advance reform, transparency, and accountability in the Massachusetts criminal legal system.
