The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney has released a new data visualization dashboard that organizes and tracks criminal cases across the county.
The Case Overview Dashboard breaks down the cases handled by local prosecutors based on demographic information, case types, charges and the overall volume.
“In service of our commitments to transparency and data-informed decision making, Fairfax County is now the first jurisdiction in the Commonwealth to provide this level of transparency on caseloads and details,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano said in a press release.
The move comes nearly a month after the Fairfax County Circuit Court launched a separate online tool that lets people search civil and criminal cases online without needing to pay a hefty fee.
According to the dashboard, the county’s prosecutors received 18,145 cases with 32,489 charges between January 2023 and March 2024. Most defendants were white men under 34. The majority of cases (59%) didn’t involve felony charges, and 76% of all cases, including both misdemeanors and felonies, were non-violent.
The four most common case types accounted for nearly half, or 48%, of all cases: felony narcotics (13%), misdemeanor assault (12%), misdemeanor larceny (12%) and misdemeanor driving while intoxicated (11%).
Violent felonies made up less than 8% of all cases, according to the release.
“These numbers reflect that Fairfax County is the safest large county in the country and that the most common type of case we receive by far is non-violent misdemeanors,” Descano said. “Using this data, our Office continues to do what it has always done: strive to improve community safety by treating serious crime seriously and pouring our resources into those cases while also taking a smart-on-crime approach that aims to keep people who have committed lower-level offenses from ‘graduating’ to more serious crime.”
The data reflects cases and charges brought to prosecutors by law enforcement, so it includes ones that may have later been dismissed or amended, a spokesperson for Descano’s office confirmed.
Jaime Michel, data director for the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, noted in the release that the data for the dashboard comes from the office’s own case management system, which is verified by court data.
“The dashboard is the product of our work to create a system of performance management and data-informed decision-making,” she said. “A critical part of that effort has been to enhance our case management system and standardize our data collection processes.”
Descano’s office has also created dashboards with data on gun removal cases and bond decisions.
The full press release is below.
Today, Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano released the Case Overview Dashboard, which will allow the public to view breakdowns of demographic information, case types, and the volume of cases Fairfax prosecutors handle. This unprecedented level of visibility into the workings of the Fairfax County justice system is the next chapter of the office’s commitment to increasing transparency and accountability to our community.
This dashboard provides new levels of access to Fairfax County’s justice system, including the following statistics:
- Fairfax prosecutors received over 18,000 cases in the 15-month period available.
- Most cases – 59% – did not involve felony charges.
- 44% of all cases were non-violent misdemeanors; violent felonies accounted for less than 8% of all cases.
- The four most common case types make up nearly half (48%) of all cases: felony narcotics (13%), misdemeanor assault (12%), misdemeanor larceny (12%), and misdemeanor DWI (11%).
“In service of our commitments to transparency and data-informed decision making, Fairfax County is now the first jurisdiction in the Commonwealth to provide this level of transparency on caseloads and details,” CA Descano said. “These numbers reflect that Fairfax County is the safest large county in the country, and that the most common type of case we receive by far is non-violent misdemeanors. Using this data, our Office continues to do what it has always done: strive to improve community safety by treating serious crime seriously and pouring our resources into those cases while also taking a smart-on-crime approach that aims to keep people who have committed lower-level offenses from ‘graduating’ to more serious crime.”
“The dashboard is the product of our work to create a system of performance management and data-informed decision-making. A critical part of that effort has been to enhance our case management system and standardize our data collection processes,” Data Director Jaime Michel, PhD, said. “The source of data for the dashboard is our own case management system, of which the vast majority of key data points are verified by the courts data. We have gone to great lengths to make the data as useful as possible to our own staff and the public.”
The release of the Case Overview Dashboard was welcomed by data experts in criminal justice:
- Measures for Justice: “We’re extremely proud that, as part of a multi-year partnership, we’ve helped the Fairfax County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office become a preeminent force in criminal justice data and transparency.”
- Dave LaBahn, President and CEO of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys: “Data is essential for prosecutors to make smart, safe decisions on criminal justice matters. That’s why I’m pleased to see counties like Fairfax, VA embrace data collection, promote transparency, and share their experience with other prosecutors across the country.”
- Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director of Fair and Just Prosecution Fair and Just Prosecution: “Transparency among prosecutors, law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve is an indispensable component of reforming the criminal legal system and maintaining public trust in the equal provision of justice for all. We applaud the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney for the work he and his office have done to compile data dashboards and use that critical information to make needed changes in practices and policies, assess the impact of reforms, and provide transparency to the community at large.”
The Case Overview Dashboard complements the OCA’s existing data dashboards, which have provided the public with access to information on bond recommendations and Red Flag orders for the last two years. As with all other dashboards, the Case Overview Dashboard will receive regular updates and improvements as the Office continues to collect and analyze new data.
The Case Overview Dashboard is the third dashboard the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office has released as part of its commitment to transparency and data-informed decision-making. The full dashboard can be viewed here.
