Lessons from Reformers: Transparency and Accountability of Prosecutors

These case studies are featured in OGP’s Justice Policy Series, Part II: Open Justice paper. Read it here.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania district attorney launches public data dashboard

In 2019, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) launched a new public dashboard for criminal justice data. The DAO Dashboard, which was created in consultation with prosecutors, data experts, and academics, is updated daily and presents data on key outcomes in the criminal justice system, including arrests, charges, bail, case outcomes, and case length. The Dashboard responds to the widespread lack of prosecutorial data that makes it hard to identify and address problematic trends in the system. In particular, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner expects that the newly available data will help his office curb mass incarceration in the district. Since the Dashboard is publicly available and user-friendly, it also enables civil society and members of the public to observe and monitor trends in the data for themselves. The DAO also encourages users to share their findings, feedback, and concerns with its office.

Slovak Republic improves transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and accountability of prosecutors’ affairs

Since 2014, the Slovak Republic has worked to address a lack of transparency in the Prosecutor General’s Office using its OGP action plans. In 2014, reports by the Group of States against Corruption and the Council of Europe raised concerns about the absence of publicly available information about prosecutors, including their names, and the inability of the public to request such information, even through Freedom of Information requests. In 2016, following its 2015 commitment, the Prosecutor General’s Office began publishing a regularly updated list of prosecutors. Recognizing that this list is only a first step toward greater openness, in 2017, the Slovak Republic took steps to make prosecutors more accountable to citizens by conducting an analysis of selection and disciplinary procedures for prosecutors. The analyses would ultimately inform draft legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r... that would require these processes to be more transparent. While the Prosecutor General’s Office completed the analyses, they did not make the resulting reports publicly available. If they had done so, the reform could have increased transparency around prosecutors’ affairs and improved civil society organizations’ ability to monitor potential misconduct or corruption by prosecutors.

OTHER OGP COMMITMENTS

• Mexico: Create a criminal investigation website that electronically notifies crime victims of the status of their cases to make the process more transparent (2012-2014).
• Moldova: Facilitate greater access to information about electronic justice services, including through a system for recording interviews between individuals and their probation counselors to ensure transparency (2018-2020).

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