Data Collection on Racial Disparities Report

Starting in 2021, the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) and the Urban Institute surveyed prosecutors’ offices across the country about any prosecutor-led diversion programs they currently run. The results of the survey are available at diversion.ndaa.org and displayed as a national map of prosecutor-led diversion programs. Since the survey closed, prosecutors’ offices have continued to submit information about their programs to the map through the Mapping Prosecutor-led Diversion website.

As of September 30, 2023, responding offices had submitted information on 496 programs. For just under half of programs submitted to the survey, offices reported being able to collect information on potential racial disparities in the diversion program, either with their own data or with data collected from other sources like law enforcement, courts, or service providers. For almost a third of programs, offices were not able to collect data on potential racial disparities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diversion offers individuals alternatives to traditional prosecution and an opportunity to avoid heavy costs such as a conviction or incarceration. It can also provide benefits like connections to valuable services and resources. It’s important for prosecutors to assess whether these benefits are available to people of various backgrounds who come into contact with the legal system in their jurisdictions. Collecting data on racial disparities in diversion programs can give decisionmakers the information necessary to understand if disparities in opportunities and outcomes are arising and how to address them.

A review of diversion practices and racial disparities notes that this disparity can stem from socioeconomic factors that may be linked to race or ethnicity. Racial disparities can occur due to “legally relevant, but not race-neutral, factors such as employment, housing status, and neighborhood of residence.” Eligibility decisions – both formal eligibility criteria that are legislatively required as well as criteria established officewide or by individual prosecutors– can be one potential pathway to examine for racial disparities. Others might include examining why people charged with offenses decide not to accept diversion offers or the reasons why some people have a lower rate of successful completion of the program. Underlying reasons associated with these pathways could include differential arrest practices in lower-income communities, a lack of trust in the system, or having fewer economic resources that would have allowed an individual to more easily complete the program.

When collecting and interpreting data on race and ethnicity, researchers emphasize collecting information that is relevant for decisionmaking, telling the story behind the data (the “why”), and setting up analysis to be ongoing and collaborative.

Prosecutors should consider tracking key metrics by race, such as referrals, participants, and completion, as part of a diversion program.
Some lessons learned from the survey as well as people interviewed as part of this project include:

• Collect data on race/ethnicity at several stages in people’s interactions with the prosecutor’s office and the diversion programs to pinpoint when disparities may be emerging.
• Analyze eligibility and completion rates for racial disparities. Review diversion programs for factors that may not seem to be tied to race and ethnicity but have disparate impacts on people of color, such as financial barriers to participation and lack of access to transportation.
• Develop culturally responsive programming that encourages participation and addresses reasons people may not elect to accept diversion, including problems paying fees, or a treatment or restorative justice approach that is relevant to the person’s experiences.