Cohort 2023

Project Curate

Advancing Noncarceral Public Safety Policies through Data-Driven Advocacy

Harris County, TX

In Harris County, Texas, residents of color, particularly Black residents, are charged with certain offenses at higher rates than white residents. Project Curate and ImagiNoir/BLMHTX, alongside other community-embedded organizations, have been working to advocate for criminal legal policy reforms and abolish predatory practices that disproportionately impact communities of color. Recently, Houston and Harris County implemented a cite-and-release program, which promotes the use of citation procedures instead of incarceration for people who commit nonviolent misdemeanors.

With Catalyst Grant funding, Project Curate and ImagiNoir/BLMHTX will study the cite-and-release program and collect data to support its expansion and support increased funding for alternatives to incarceration in Houston. Using law enforcement and traffic stop data acquired through Texas Public Information Act requests, the team will highlight disparities in Houston’s criminal legal system through data visualization. It will also facilitate Data to Dream workshops for community members that will explain the data and create opportunities to brainstorm narratives advocating for investment in alternatives to incarceration. These workshops will prepare community members to participate in the 2023 Harris County budget proposal process and recommend evidence-based noncarceral public safety policies to decrease community members’ contact with the criminal legal system.