Luminosity, Inc. is a nationally recognized and highly regarded small, women-owned business whose mission is to advance pretrial justice in America. For over two decades, we have leveraged data analytics and implementation science to improve public safety, fairness, and cost effectiveness in communities across the country.
Luminosity’s Data Analytics team consists of expert business analysts, data integration specialists, data engineers, data scientists, and data visualization experts. Our team is the leading authority on linking and integrating siloed data from independent justice system agencies and creating usable, accessible, interpretable, and actionable data. Luminosity’s Transforming Siloed Data Into Justice System Insights initiative is underway in cities and states across the US.
Our pretrial justice data analytics, research, and implementation projects have been presented at prestigious national events, cited in numerous high-profile media outlets, and published in top tiered academic journals.
Media
CNN
CNN interviewed Luminosity’s Director of Data Analytics in the article Recidivists fuel New York City’s rise in crime, mayor and police officials say. “Marie VanNostrand, an analyst with Luminosity, which studies criminal justice data, said she had not seen the city’s data but the mayor’s suggestion that a small number of people were being arrested, released and then rearrested for serious crimes is consistent with other data on the subject. ‘The number of people being arrested now who have pending cases – which is what the mayor is referencing – has in fact increased. Now, the causes of that aren’t necessarily clear,’ she said. ‘The mayor made some reference to bail reform … We also know that cases are going on longer because of the pandemic court closures and those types of things. So there’s certainly potentially competing causal factors.’ Still, VanNostrand said violent crime and gun violence are increasing across the country, including in states that have not implemented bail reform.
The New York Times
The New York Times leveraged the analytical insights generated by Luminosity and contained in the NYC Criminal Justice Agency’s pretrial dashboards to inform the proposed legislative changes being discussed in the State. The article New York’s Bail Laws, Reconsidered: 5 Things to Know found that “Overall, the rate of those who have been rearrested while they are awaiting trial has been largely unaffected by the changes in the law, according to data from the New York City Criminal Justice Agency. It has held steady at a range of between 3 and 5 percent each month. But the data is more troubling when it comes to violent crime. Dr. Marie VanNostrand, a scholar of criminal justice systems who has studied New York City’s data, said that she has seen an increase in offenses among people who had been released to await trial after being charged with violent felonies… But Dr. VanNostrand said that violent crime was increasing across the city and that increases among those awaiting trial did not account for the broader trend. ‘The numbers just don’t bear out that the crime wave is being driven by people who are on pretrial release,’ she said.”
The Crime Report
The Crime Report highlights Luminosity’s Transforming Siloed Data Into Justice System Insights initiative in the article NYC Dashboard Shows 45,789 Released Individuals Awaiting Trial “As Luminosity, Inc. Director of Data Analytics Marie VanNostrand shows in her commentary, this dashboard visualization facilitates a more complete picture of the pretrial population before and after bail reform. For the first time, New York City can paint a complete picture of its entire pretrial population,” VanNostrand writes.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
John Oliver explains why America’s bail system is better for the reality tv industry than it is for the justice system in his first episode on Bail. In the original episode he highlights Luminosity’s research that found that 38.5% of all the people incarcerated in New Jersey Jails were there solely due to their inability to pay their bail. In the second bail related episode Bail Reform, John Oliver discusses among other things the progress made in New Jersey following Luminosity’s research.
NBC News Special Report
Dr. Marie VanNostrand was profiled in the NBC News Special Report: Post Bail – America’s justice system runs on the exchange of money for freedom. Some say that’s unfair. But can data fix it? for her criminal justice reform work. “Her interest began as a probation and parole officer, where she saw large numbers of people with jobs, families, and no criminal records stuck behind bars because they could not afford bail. She also noticed people with long records who got released quickly because they could pay. ‘The disparity and discrimination I saw based on race and socioeconomic status outraged me and fueled my desire to dedicate the rest of my life to changing that,’ she said.”
The New Yorker: The Case Against Cash Bail
Now, there’s a study that quantifies some of the harm of keeping low-risk offenders in jail. Three criminal-justice researchers—Christopher Lowenkamp, Marie VanNostrand, and Alexander Holsinger … found that the longer low-risk defendants were held in jail the more likely they were to engage in criminal activity… How could it be that as few as two additional days in jail could do such damage? … The researchers say that the real problem is that jail destabilizes lives that are often, and almost by definition, already unstable. It tends to quickly undermine the three mainstays of steady employment, housing, and family attachments.
District Attorney’s Office Georgia Western Judicial Circuit – Groundbreaking Data Transparency Initiative
Western Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez today announced that Luminosity, Inc. will be assisting her office in developing an online dashboard that will for the first time provide the public with convenient access to basic facts about the criminal justice system in Athens-Clarke and Oconee counties. “After partnering with jurisdictions ranging from New York City to Charlotte, NC, we are excited to offer our experience and expertise on these issues to the people of Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties,” said Luminosity Director of Data Analytics Dr. Marie VanNostrand.
National Events
American Society of Criminology
Luminosity team members Anndi Russell and Dr. Marie VanNostrand along with Dr. Catie Clark and Shannon Messer presented the Mecklenburg County, NC interactive dashboards. The dashboards tell the story of how people are processed through the pretrial justice system, from law enforcement contact until case resolution. These dashboards are intended to be used to monitor system performance in real time; empower strategic and data driven decisions; increase transparency and accountability; and illuminate actionable insights.
NAPSA’s 49th Annual Conference and Training Institute
The National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies conference had nearly 1,000 attendees. Marcia Rebimbas and Dr. Marie VanNostrand presented Luminosity’s Transforming Siloed Data into Justice System Insights work with our great partners from Mecklenburg (Charlotte) North Carolina and the New York City Criminal Justice Agency.
The White House: A Cycle of Incarceration – Prison, Debt and Bail Practices
The White House brought together top-level stakeholders, academics, and advocates to discuss how the use of money in justice systems, either as punishment or to promote court appearance, is ineffective and undermines safety and fairness. The event, titled, A Cycle of Incarceration: Prison, Debt and Bail Practices, included Dr. Marie VanNostrand of Luminosity, Inc. who spoke on the ‘Research and Approaches to Monetary Penalties’ panel.
Congressional Briefing: Pretrial Justice – Research Evidence and Future Prospects
The congressional briefing included distinguished speakers who presented research on local, state, and federal pretrial issues, including pretrial detention, risk assessment, cost-benefits, the use of bail and diversion. Dr. Marie VanNostrand of Luminosity, Inc. presented “Pretrial Decisions Determine Mostly Everything.”
Columbia Law School: Rewriting the Sentence Summit on Alternatives to Incarceration
The Rewriting the Sentence Summit highlighted a vast array of innovative alternative approaches to criminal justice currently isolated in pockets throughout the country, and brought together leaders of innovation in the field to broadcast best practices and ideas for further implementation of alternatives. Marie VanNostrand, Ph.D., Director of Data Analytics at Luminosity, spoke at the session “Risk Assessment: A Feature or a Bug? Perspectives on a Complex Debate” with Elizabeth Glazer Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice; Insha Rahman Program Director, Vera Institute of Justice; and Julian Adler Director of Policy and Research, Center for Court Innovation.
National Symposium on Pretrial Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and the Pretrial Justice Institute convened leaders from significant criminal justice stakeholder organizations and the pretrial community to update the important conversations of the 1964 National Conference on Bail and Criminal Justice. Featured speakers included Attorney General Eric Holder, American Bar Association President William T. Robinson, and President of the Conference of Chief Justices, Eric T. Washington. Dr. Marie VanNostrand of Luminosity, Inc. spoke about her research on the intersect of the risk principle and the law in the pretrial setting.
Select Publications
- Justice Quarterly: The Effect of Pretrial Detention on Sentencing in Two Federal Districts
- Crime and Delinquency: The Sentencing Consequences of Federal Pretrial Supervision
- Federal Sentencing Reporter: Improving Public Safety and Fairness in Pretrial Decision Making
- Drug Policy Alliance: New Jersey Jail Population Analysis: Identifying Opportunities to Safely and Responsibly Reduce the Jail Population
- LJAF: The Hidden Costs of Pretrial Detention
- Bureau of Justice Assistance: State of the Science of Pretrial Release Recommendations and Supervision
- New York City Criminal Justice Agency: Updating the New York City Criminal Justice Agency Release Assessment – Maintaining High Court Appearance Rates, Reducing Unnecessary Pretrial Detention, and Reducing Disparity
- National Institute of Corrections: Legal and Evidence Based Practices: Application of Legal Principles, Laws, and Research to the Field of Pretrial Services
- Federal Probation: Our Journey Toward Pretrial Justice