A collaboration between Faith in Indiana and The Polis Center is one of nine local projects selected to participate in the newly launched Catalyst Grant Program (through the Urban Institute and Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative). The goal of the initiative is to use data and technology to advance local criminal justice reform and decrease racial and ethnic disparities in three areas: policing, diversion and alternatives to incarceration, and prosecution. The program seeks to build the capacity of community organizations to use technology to analyze, visualize, and share data to support community organizing, advocacy, and service provision. Our project, “Analyzing Data to Advance Police Reform in Indianapolis,” will analyze Marion County Jail data to better understand trends in who is incarcerated in the jail and use those findings to promote jail diversion and decarceration efforts in Indianapolis. In addition, Faith in Indiana and Polis will train grassroots leaders to survey community members about their experiences with law enforcement and the justice system. Findings from both activities will be shared through interactive dashboards and visualizations during community meetings led by directly impacted leaders and leverage the General Orders Board to spur reform locally. The General Orders Board was formed in 2020 by the Indianapolis City-County Council to enable the community to have a formal voice in overseeing police policy, improve transparency and accountability, and strengthen relationships. The outcomes from our project will provide the community key data with which to advocate for justice reform.
Polis-Faith in Indiana collaboration awarded Urban Institute Catalyst Grant
