Several Bay Area counties, including San Francisco, are facing challenges in complying with a new state law that requires prosecutors to make charging decisions without viewing information about suspects’ races. The law, known as “race-blind” charging, aims to eliminate bias in the criminal justice system by redacting information that could identify a person’s race from police reports before a charging decision is made.
However, many district attorneys’ offices are struggling with funding and implementing new technologies to meet the requirements of the law. In San Francisco, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins estimates that an additional $1.4 million annually is needed to comply with the law, including funds for new software and hiring additional staff. Similar funding challenges were faced in Alameda County, where upgrades to the office’s case management system to integrate redaction features are underway, but additional funding for the required second phase of upgrades is uncertain.
Despite the challenges, some counties such as San Joaquin and Contra Costa have successfully implemented race-blind charging policies. District Attorney Ron Freitas sees the process as an opportunity to show that criminal charges are based on evidence, not suspects’ race. Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton views the race-blind process as a tool to keep racial biases in check and has reassigned prosecutors to manage the increased workload.
Several jurisdictions are planning to analyze data on charging decisions to measure the impact of the race-blind process on disparities across racial groups. Collaborations with researchers at the Harvard University-based Computational Policy Lab are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of the new law. Plans to go beyond redaction features to eliminate references to cultural events that could reveal the race of suspects and victims are also being explored.
Despite the challenges, some counties have successfully implemented race-blind charging policies, demonstrating a commitment to reducing bias in the criminal justice system.
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