Prosecutorial Performance Indicators
A suite of modern indicators for prosecutors committed to measuring effectiveness, efficiency & fairness
The Prosecutorial Performance Indicators
- Office management tool
- Performance measurement tool
- Transparency and accountability tool
With a menu of 55 indicators, PPIs measure performance toward three goals: Capacity & Efficiency, Community Safety & Well-being, and Fairness & Justice. This website presents the indicators, guides, training materials, and sample data from partner offices to illustrate how the PPIs work in diverse jurisdictions.
Prosecutorial Performance Indicators are:
Impact Oriented
Comprehensive
Objective
Responsive
Data Informed
Free
Capacity & Efficiency
Community Safety & Well-Being
Fairness & Justice
Organizational & Staff Capacity
1.1 Office felony and misdemeanor caseloads
1.2 Felony caseload distribution
1.3 Leadership and line prosecutor diversity
1.4 Staff retention rate
1.5 Clerical and paralegal capacity
1.6 Data and analytic capacity
Addressing Serious Crime
4.1 Violent crime prevention
4.2 Acquittal for violent crimes
4.3 Violent recidivism
4.4 Felony recidivism of diversioners
4.5 Escalation in offending
4.6 Treating serious crime the same across neighborhoods
4.7 Addressing the opioid epidemic
Racial & Ethnic Differences
7.1 Victimization of racial/ethnic minorities
7.2 Case dismissal by victim race/ethnicity
7.3 Case filing by defendant race/ethnicity
7.4 Pretrial detention by defendant race/ethnicity
7.5 Diversion by defendant race/ethnicity
7.6 Charging and plea offers by defendant race/ethnicity
Time & Resource Prioritization
2.2 Strategic case rejections at filing and dismissal
2.3 Prioritizing cases with the greatest public safety returns
2.4 Reserving incarceration for serious offenders
2.5 Accurate Diversion Decisions and Placements
Protecting & Serving Victims
5.1 Victim support outreach
5.2 Speedy contact with victims
5.3 Avoiding victim coercion
5.4 Addressing violent victimization of children
5.5 Addressing victimization of the poor
5.6 Addressing sexual assault victimization
Minimizing Unnecessary Punitiveness
8.1 Avoiding unnecessary felony charges at filing
8.2 Diversion as an alternative to incarceration
8.3 Reducing reliance on pretrial detention
8.4 Avoiding felony incarceration when possible
8.5 Incarceration triggered by pretrial detention of the poor
8.6 Discretion over guidelines to avoid excessive penalties
8.7 Disproportionate punishment for the poor
Timeliness of Case Processing
3.1 Time to felony disposition
3.2 Efficient filing decisions for cases with pretrial detainees
3.3 Time to disposition for pretrial detainees
3.4 Conforming to ABA disposition time standards
3.5 Minimizing delays in case processing by limiting continuances
3.6 Dismissal timeliness
Community Outreach & Engagement
6.1 Accessibility of prosecutor’s office
6.2 Expanded crime reporting opportunities
6.3 Engagement with economically diverse communities
6.4 Prosecutorial participation in community events
6.5 Witness cooperation
6.6 Responsiveness to public records requests
Prosecutorial Ethics & Integrity
9.1 Procedural and ethics violations
9.2 Dedication to conviction integrity
9.3 Commitment to law enforcement accountability
9.4 Charging integrity
9.5 Discovery compliance
Capacity & Efficiency
Organizational & Staff Capacity
1.1 Office felony and misdemeanor caseloads
1.2 Felony caseload distribution
1.3 Leadership and line prosecutor diversity
1.4 Staff retention rate
1.5 Clerical and paralegal capacity
1.6 Data and analytic capacity
Time & Resources Prioritization
2.1 Ability to identify dismissible cases at filing
2.2 Strategic case rejections at filing and dismissal
2.3 Prioritizing cases with the greatest public
2.4 Safety returns
2.5 Reserving incarceration for serious offenders
2.6 Reserving incarceration for serious offenders
Timeliness of Case Processing
3.1 Time to felony disposition
3.2 Efficient filing decisions for cases with pretrial detainees
3.3 Time to disposition for pretrial detainees
3.4 Conforming to ABA disposition time standards
3.5 Minimizing delays in case processing by limiting continuances
3.6 Dismissal timeliness
Community Safety & Well-Being
Addressing Serious Crime
4.1 Violent Crime prevention
4.2 Acquittal for violent crimes
4.3 Violent recidivism
4.4 Felony recidivism of diversioners
4.5 Escalation in offending
4.6 Treating serious crime the same across
neighborhoods
4.7 Addressing the opioid epidemic
Protecting & Serving Victims
5.1 Victim support outreach
5.2 Speedy contact with victims
5.3 Avoiding victim coercion
5.4 Addressing violent victimization of children
5.5 Addressing victimization of the poor
5.6 Addressing sexual assault victimization
Community Outreach & Engagement
6.1 Accessibility of prosecutor’s office
6.2 Expanded crime reporting opportunities
6.3 Engagement with economically diverse
communities
6.4 Prosecutorial participation in community events
6.5 Witness cooperation
6.6 Responsiveness to public records requests
Fairness & Justice
Racial & Ethnic Differences
7.1 Victimization of racial/ethnic minorities
7.2 Case dismissal by victim race/ethnicity
7.3 Case filing by defendant race/ethnicity
7.4 Pretrial detention by defendant
race/ethnicity
7.5 Diversion by defendant race/ethnicity
7.6 Charging and plea offer differences by defendant race/ethnicity
Minimizing Unnecessary Punitiveness
8.1 Avoiding unnecessary felony charges at filing
8.2 Diversion as an alternative to incarceration
8.3 Reducing reliance on pretrial detention
8.4 Avoiding felony incarceration when possible
8.5 Incarceration triggered by pretrial detention
of the poor
8.6 Discretion over guidelines to avoid excessive
penalties
8.7 Disproportionate Punishment for the Poor
Prosecutorial Ethics & Integrity
9.1 Procedural and ethics violations
9.2 Dedication to conviction integrity
9.3 Commitment to law enforcement accountability
9.4 Charging integrity
9.5 Discovery compliance
News
Publications
Prosecutorial Attitudes, Perspectives, & Priorities-Insights from the Inside
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Cook County, Illinois
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Hillsborough County, Florida
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Clay, Duval & Nassau Counties, Florida
Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Implementation Guide
Publications
Prosecutorial Attitudes, Perspectives, & Priorities-Insights from the Inside
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Cook County, Illinois
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Hillsborough County, Florida
Race, Ethnicity & Prosecution in Clay, Duval & Nassau Counties, Florida
Prosecutorial Performance Indicators Implementation Guide
Partner Offices
Jacksonville, FL
Office of the State Attorney for the 4th Judicial Circuit
- Serving Clay, Duval, and Nassau Counties, 1.2 million residents
- Melissa Nelson, State Attorney since 2017
- Office size: 116 attorneys and ~35,000 cases filed annually
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
- Serving Philadelphia County, 1.5 million residents
- Larry Krasner, District Attorney since 2018
- Office size: ~352 attorneys and ~40,000 cases filed annually
Office of the State Attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit
- Serving Hillsborough County, 1.4 million residents
- Andrew Warren, State Attorney since 2017
- Office size: 130 attorneys and ~27,000 cases filed annually
Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
- Serving Milwaukee County, 950,000 residents
- John Chisholm, District Attorney since 2007
- Office size: 130 attorneys and ~10,000 cases filed annually
Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
- Serving Cook County, 5.2 million residents
- Kim Foxx, State’s Attorney since 2016
- Office size: 700 attorneys and ~300,000 cases filed annually
Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office
- Serving Charleston & Berkeley Counties, 639,000 residents
- Scarlett A. Wilson, Solicitor since 2007
- Office size: 50 attorneys and ~12,000 cases filed annually
The Team
Besiki Luka Kutateladze
Florida International University
Don Stemen
Loyola University Chicago
Rebecca Richardson
Florida International University
Melba Pearson
Florida International University
Ana Carazo
Florida International University
Lin Liu
Florida International University
Branden DuPont
Medical College of Wisconsin
David Olson
Loyola University Chicago
Funders
Funders
Advisors
Marlene Biener – Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
John Chisholm – Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
Tina Chiu – New York City Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice
Reagan Daly – Institute for State and Local Governance
Aisha Edwards – MacArthur Foundation
Lauren-Brooke Eisen – Brennan Center for Justice
Gipsy Escobar – Measures for Justice
Kim Foxx – The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Laurie Garduque – MacArthur Foundation
Oren Gur – Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
David Harris – University of Pittsburgh
Kim Hindman – Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
Jamila Hodge – Vera Institute of Justice
Michael Hollander – Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
Michael Jacobson – Institute for State and Local Governance
Brian Johnson – University of Maryland
Larry Krasner – Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
Miriam Krinsky – Fair and Just Prosecution
David LaBahn – Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
Kent Lovern – Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
Melissa Nelson – Office of the State Attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit
Lisa Page – Office of the State Attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit
Meg Reiss – Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office
Matthew Saniie – Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office
Steve Siegel – Office of the State Attorney, 4th Judicial Circuit
Cassia Spohn – Arizona State University
Stephan Thomas – Prosecutor Impact
Anthony Thompson – New York University
Andrew Warren – Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
Daniel Wilhelm – Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation
Scarlett Wilson – Office of Solicitor for the Ninth Judicial Circuit
Jane Wiseman – Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
Ron Wright – Wake Forest University
