Wednesday, October 30, 2019

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce announced that it has been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to develop and deploy two companion tools to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of criminal prosecution in Bernalillo County.  New Mexico Tech is a key partner in this project.

Data scientists and engineers at the Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis (ICASA) at the New Mexico Tech are developing tools and integrating them into the daily operations of the D.A.’s Office. ICASA has a lengthy track record of working with government and industry partners to confront important challenges – particularly in the areas of global and national security. ICASA has done work for the Department of Defense, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Sandia National Laboratories, among numerous other agencies.

Currently, ICASA is working at the state level and with the D.A.’s Office to integrate criminal justice system data and build the data infrastructure and analytical tools in use by the Crime Strategies Unit.  Additionally, ICASA is partnered with the New Mexico Sentencing Commission on integrating a single state identification number for individuals across multiple criminal justice data systems in use throughout the state. This project will complement and build upon these successful, ongoing collaborations.

The tools will assist local prosecutors with the important decisions they must make in the earliest stages of a criminal case, using enhanced technology to streamline the case referral and initiation process and better using data to identify and direct resources toward the prosecution of serious, well-connected, or repeat offenders.

“When criminal prosecution is efficient, precise, and well-informed, justice is able to be firm, swift, and fair,” said Terri Cole, President and CEO of the Chamber.

As Albuquerque has grappled with high crime in recent years, the Chamber turned the focus of its advocacy work toward improved public safety. Since 2017, the Chamber has partnered with District Attorney Raúl Torrez to increase the strategic use of data to fight crime, which included the funding and launch of a Crime Strategies Unit to identify and cripple crime networks in the Albuquerque area.  The Chamber has also supported the hiring of additional police officers, worked to secure state funding for new crime-fighting technology, and served on a criminal justice reform task force that recommended and successfully passed legislation requiring greater data-sharing among justice system agencies.

“We love our city and want it to be a safe, welcoming place to run a business, work, and raise a family,” Cole said. “Thanks to the Department of Justice, this grant allows the business community to come alongside our district attorney and help our prosecutors and law enforcement partners launch strong cases against criminals in Albuquerque and prioritize – from the very beginning – the serious offenders who drive the lion’s share of our crime problem.”

Under this three-year project, the Chamber will oversee the development of two case intake tools:

Case Acceptance and Initiation Tool

This tool will streamline the process by which law enforcement agencies package case referrals and submit discovery materials to the D.A.’s Office, simplify and automate discovery-sharing with defense attorneys, and provide an earlier and more thorough assessment of the quality of a criminal case.  It will ensure that initiated cases are ready to be prosecuted, in compliance with relatively recent strict Supreme Court rules governing the timeline and procedures for processing criminal cases.  The tool intends to guard against the historically prevalent problem of cases being started and dismissed – for any number of technical reasons – which can delay or deny justice.

Risk-Based Offender Differentiation Tool

At the case intake stage, this tool will aggregate information about a defendant’s past criminal behavior and, based on an analysis of the risk they pose, allow prosecutors to immediately sort defendants who are potentially more dangerous from those who are less so and tailor prosecution strategies, resource allocation, and early-stage decisions accordingly. This tool would help inform prosecutor assignments and allow prosecutors to consistently and appropriately decide which defendants to detain pre-trial, refer to the Crime Strategies Unit for further analysis, prosecute in federal court, or refer to diversion programs.

Together, these tools will help the D.A.’s Office analyze, prepare, and prioritize cases resulting from the 25,000+ criminal case referrals it receives each year, 60 percent of which are for felony crimes.  Since 2017, the D.A.’s Office has dramatically reduced the amount of time it takes to file charges and resolve criminal cases in Bernalillo County.  These tools will help build on that important progress.

“Our office has been on the cutting edge of developing data tools to fight crime. We are happy to be partnering with the business community, our federal partners and the state’s premier technological university on this project,” District Attorney Raúl Torrez said.  

This grant award is part of a DOJ program titled, “Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Reducing Violent Crime by Improving Justice System Performance.” Ideally, the tools developed as part of this project will work successfully in Bernalillo County and be able to be deployed throughout New Mexico (and perhaps beyond) to improve criminal prosecution and reduce crime elsewhere. 

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office congratulates the Chamber of Commerce on its successful grant application. One of the Department of Justice’s highest priorities is reducing violent crimes in urban areas. This grant will strengthen the existing partnership between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office as we work together and with other community leaders to strategically target the most dangerous offenders in our ongoing efforts to improve public safety in Albuquerque,” said John C. Anderson, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico.

About the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber works with government, business, and community partners to promote and develop a welcoming business environment and thriving, diverse economy in New Mexico.  In its 102nd year of existence, the Chamber’s goal is to make Albuquerque a great place to start and grow a business and a safe, exciting place to work and raise a family.  It is a community-based problem-solving organization, centering its advocacy work on three issue areas that impact long-term economic growth: transforming downtown Albuquerque, improving the academic performance of New Mexico’s public schools, and reducing crime in our city and state.

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