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.

Screenshot of HBO Series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver speaking on New Jersey Jail Population (statistics provided by Luminosity - Justice Data Analytics)

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.”

NBC News Post Bail Article Image

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.