The University of Virginia School of Law’s Center for Criminal Justice will soon launch the Project for Informed Reform. Rachel Harmon of UVA Law, Associate Reporter for Principles of the Law, Policing, will serve as co-director of the Center.
“We might study local matters – disparities in a particular police department in traffic stops. We might study Virginia-specific issues, like how long it takes for an average bail hearing, or we might study national questions like the number of shaken baby prosecutions that are being pursued nationwide," Harmon says. "Bail reform, policing reform, parole reform – there are so many issues that are pressing both here in Virginia and nationwide. I expect we’ll be involved in a range of them.”
The initiative’s mission is to sift through thousands of legal cases for research and to combine information as a guide to legislatures and law enforcement. It will offer reports, databases, and recommendations and hopes to collaborate with other law schools for research. The initiative will begin work next year.