Whatcom County committee narrows recidivism metrics to start Justice Project data work

Members of the Whatcom County Incarceration Prevention and Reduction Task Force's Legal and Justice Systems Committee on April 8 discussed and narrowed the initial metrics the county will use to evaluate the Justice Project Implementation Plan, focusing on data that local systems can measure now.

Bertie (IPRTF staff/data coordinator) told the committee that VillageReach consultant Julia Garrett had recommended four outcome measures: "the number of jail bookings, the average length of jail stay, the number of people on release from jail that are connected to care in some fashion," and "the fourth is obviously the recidivism rate." The consultant also recommended disaggregating results by behavioral health, substance-use status and by race and ethnicity.

The committee debated how to define recidivism. Caleb (committee member) advocated for a narrowly measurable starting point tied to local jail records: "if somebody had a release date in 2014 and within 1 year of that release date to have new incarceration, that's a 1. If it's not, then it's a 0." Several members said that civil infractions (for example, traffic tickets) should not be counted as recidivism and that multiple useful definitions exist, including subsequent arrest, rebooking into jail or conviction.

Members agreed on two parallel aims: adopt a clear, achievable jail-based recidivism metric the county can calculate now, and plan to expand measurement over time (for example, 6-month, 1-year, 3-year and 5-year lookbacks) as cross-system data linkages improve. Committee members also emphasized the value of program-level measures, such as recidivism for participants in diversion or therapeutic-court programs, noting those evaluations require more detailed data.

Committee members and staff raised limitations of current data systems. Bertie and others said the county's jail records can provide a binary re-incarceration marker but do not capture cross-jurisdictional contacts or convictions outside Whatcom County without additional data-sharing arrangements. The group directed staff to work with county IT and with VillageReach to refine the metrics and report back with data capability assessments.

During public comment, Dean White, who manages the county contract with VillageReach, asked whether the consultant had reached out to committee members for input on definitions. Several members confirmed follow-up conversations would occur before the next meeting.