To ensure transparency and due process for the use of innovative risk assessment softwares in the criminal justice system, the executive branch should mandate all risk assessment software used by the federal government should be built on free and open source software platforms to allow audits and suggested improvements from civil society groups. This would include public access to the anonymized training data, methods of machine learning (if applicable), and final weighing of the variables. Furthermore, the DOJ should issue a task-force to report on the use of risk assessment software in state criminal justice systems, examine public record criminal datasets and work to make them accessible in an easily downloadable, machine-readable format, and promote the development of open source case management and translation services to be freely available for State and county-level legal systems. Progress in this area would be measured based on an increase in the use of transparent risk assessment software in pretrial, sentencing, and parole hearings, decreased jail and prison populations, and the resulting taxpayer savings.
This suggestion came from a working group at the Emerging Tech for Open Government workshop on September 8th.
To ensure transparency and due process for the use of innovative risk assessment softwares in the criminal justice system, the executive branch should mandate all risk assessment software used by the federal government should be built on free and open source software platforms to allow audits and suggested improvements from civil society groups. This would include public access to the anonymized training data, methods of machine learning (if applicable), and final weighing of the variables. Furthermore, the DOJ should issue a task-force to report on the use of risk assessment software in state criminal justice systems, examine public record criminal datasets and work to make them accessible in an easily downloadable, machine-readable format, and promote the development of open source case management and translation services to be freely available for State and county-level legal systems. Progress in this area would be measured based on an increase in the use of transparent risk assessment software in pretrial, sentencing, and parole hearings, decreased jail and prison populations, and the resulting taxpayer savings.