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The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office will take a critical look at its own decision-making by joining an exclusive reform program aimed at ending racism and implicit bias in the justice system.

Contra Costa’s is one of four prosecution offices nationwide to partner with the New York-based Vera Institute of Justice, a data-driven nonprofit that pursues progressive policies and training in the justice system. Vera’s program is run by a former federal prosecutor and seeks to reduce racial disparities and mass incarceration, its director said.

The partnership was announced in late October, three months after a county task force study found disproportionate treatment of blacks and Latinos in nearly every level of Contra Costa’s justice system.

The move is the latest sign of philosophical changes at the DA’s office brought about by the appointment — and then election — of District Attorney Diana Becton. In 2014, Becton’s predecessor, Mark Peterson, publicly insisted that the county’s criminal justice system was free of racial bias after the public defender’s office held a Black Lives Matter protest.

Becton, sworn in last week, is both the first woman and first person of color to become district attorney in Contra Costa. She pledged to pursue progressive reforms such as alternatives to incarceration. Her appointment is what caused Vera to reach out to the DA’s office, said program director Jamila Hodge.

“We were really impressed by the number of community members who spoke on (Becton’s) behalf and the things they said about her,” said Hodge, a former U.S. attorney and senior adviser in the U.S. Justice Department during the Obama administration. “She was the candidate they felt understood the racial disparities in the system, cared about it, wanted to do something about it … She looked like a person whose goals would align with ours.”

In April 2016, the Board of Supervisors created a Racial Justice Task Force — including members from the DA and public defender’s offices, the sheriff’s office, county probation and community leaders — to examine whether racial disparities exist in the justice system. Last July, the task force released a study that found from 2013 to 2017, black men and women were more than three times as likely to be arrested than any other racial group, and black children were more than seven times more likely to be arrested.

It also found that in 2014-15, black and Latino defendants were more likely to be charged with enhancements that add prison time, and that from 2015 to 2017, black and Latino adults were more likely to be detained before their trial is held. The task force made 25 related recommendations that included the formation of a racial justice oversight body and a call to end a 2011 policy that picks jurors from a countywide pool rather than from the region the alleged crime occurred.

The task force also called for more thorough data collection, noting significant gaps in police departments’ data hindered the task force’s ability “to obtain up-to-date, racially specific data about law enforcement processes and practices.”

Becton, through a spokesman, declined to comment for this story, because the partnership is in its early stages; both sides are working together to draft a memorandum of understanding before the program begins. In an October news release announcing the partnership, though, Becton released a written statement.

“The Contra Costa County community is demanding a fairer and more just response to the problems that we face. We are thrilled to partner with the Vera Institute of Justice to develop innovative solutions that minimize the overreach of the criminal justice system–especially for our youth, while keeping our communities safe,” she said. “Vera’s long history of using research and data to drive change makes them the perfect partner to deal with the complex challenges before us.”

The Vera Institute is a multimillion-dollar nonprofit that advocates for data-driven policy reforms in the justice system. Its mission statement is to “tackle the most pressing injustices of our day; the causes and consequences of mass incarceration, racial disparities and the loss of public trust in law enforcement, to the unmet needs of the vulnerable, the marginalized and those harmed by crime and violence,” its website says.

Once a memorandum of understanding is signed, the Vera Institute will conduct a data analysis that could take several months, Hodge said.

“We’re looking at everything, not just number of cases but racial breakdown of charging decisions, how many people are asked to be held pretrial instead of released pretrial, what kind of plea offers are being made. Everything we can about how prosecutors are doing their job,” he said.

“We pretty much can guarantee we’re going to show them racial disparities and how they over-rely on incarceration and number of nonviolent, low-level folks who are being detained.”

After the Vera Institute’s data-analysis, its members will meet with local prosecutors to agree on reforms tailored to the office, then begin workshops and presentations over several visits to the office.

“We are very intentional about engaging directly with line staff. Sometimes they just aren’t aware of this larger problem of mass incarceration and their county’s role in contributing to it,” Hodge said.

In addition to Contra Costa County, the Vera Institute also is working with prosecutors in St. Louis, Missouri; Jacksonville, Florida; and an office in Mississippi that covers a four-county region.

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This blog was kindly contributed by Professor Randall Whittaker, Pro-Vice Chancellor Academic and Leeds Arts University. You can find Randall on Twitter @RandalWhittaker.

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"I am not suicidal. I am innocent," the actor said during a courtroom outburst.

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