Research

The CRELS program encompasses the following collaborative, multidisciplinary research projects that aim to discover and analyze potential interventions that will reduce inequalities resulting from the criminal justice system:

Data-Informed Prosecutorial Decision-Making

Leveraging ongoing work at UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab, we will assess the ways in which machine learning and other data science tools can effectively support efforts to reduce mass incarceration, increase racial equity, and improve efficiency in prosecutorial case processing.

California Law Enforcement Accountability Network (CLEAN)

At UC Berkeley’s EPIC Data Lab, the CLEAN project aims to identify points of intervention in policing institutions, cultures, and practices to reduce police misconduct and excessive use of force, which fall disproportionately on racial and ethnic minorities and the poor.

Eviction and Criminal Justice System Involvement

The multi-institution research group Eviction Research Network (ERN) aims to collect and processing more complete eviction data using tools such as NLP to mine electronically scanned court records in underrepresented jurisdictions.

Racial Justice Act

In collaboration with local public defenders in the Bay Area, CRELS fellows and faculty are analyzing data and developing analysis templates to assess racial disparities in charging and sentencing decisions to support claims under California's Racial Justice Act.