Commission committee sends University of Memphis contract for county criminal-justice dashboard to full commission without recommendation
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Summary
After extensive questioning about data access, sustainability and IT oversight, the Budget & Finance committee moved the proposed $300,000 contract with the University of Memphis to create the CLEAR criminal-justice research unit and dashboard to the full commission without a recommendation. Commissioners asked for an IT steering-committee review and MOU before final approval.
Commissioners in the Committee on Law Enforcement, Corrections and Courts debated a proposed contract with the University of Memphis to build a criminal-justice data dashboard and research unit, ultimately sending the contract to the full Shelby County Board of Commissioners without committee recommendation.
Jonathan Bennett, chief data scientist at the University of Memphis Center for Community Research and Evaluation, told commissioners the CLEAR initiative would compile interagency data to create public and commissioner-facing dashboards and a research hub, focusing initially on adult cases from booking through sentencing. Bennett said the contract carries a two-year, $300,000 initial term with optional renewals and that a working dashboard could be available within six months.
The proposal drew detailed questions about scope, sustainability and legal safeguards. General Sessions Court Clerk Tammy Sawyer described an existing interagency dashboard (IJOE) the clerk's office already updates weekly and urged protections to keep the new work neutral and university-led: “I would like for it to stay nonpartisan,” she said. Commissioners pressed whether juvenile data, municipal police data and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation or other public feeds would be included; Bennett said juvenile court was not an initial partner but that publicly available TBI and municipal dashboards could be integrated later.
Several commissioners also questioned long-term funding. Bennett said the contract includes a $300,000 base and annual renewal options that could carry ongoing costs (a cited example was $125,000 per renewal year). He said part of the initiative's sustainability goal is to demonstrate impact that can attract external grant funds. County attorneys and staff explained the contract would be paired with MOUs requiring agencies to sign data-sharing agreements and that the IT steering committee would review the MOUs for technical compliance.
After back-and-forth over precedent and whether the IT steering committee should issue a prior recommendation for technology purchases over $50,000, Commissioners debated a motion by Commissioner Thornton to defer. That motion was withdrawn and replaced with a motion to send the contract to the full commission without recommendation, allowing the IT steering committee and the county technology coordinator to provide formal input by the full commission meeting. The committee carried the motion.
Next steps include IT steering committee review of MOUs and technical requirements, continued interagency outreach to secure data partners, and the full commission’s consideration of the contract at its next meeting.