Justice

Fingerprint Terminal at Cook County Juvenile Center

Sonja Marziano

Cook_County_Juvenile_Detention_Facility_and_CourtAs part of our continued work in connection with our Expunge.io product, we secured a fingerprint terminal to be stationed at the Cook County Juvenile Center. This is one of the ways we determined, with our partners at LAF, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, the Juvenile Justice Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Clerk’s Office and the Cook County/Juvenile Probation and Court Services, that we could make the expungement process work more efficiently.

The fingerprint terminal became available on March 15 and is being used and create a better process for individuals looking to expunge their juvenile records. By having the terminal in the same location as the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk, we hope to drive more people to expunge their records.

Current process can be cumbersome

If you have been arrested in Chicago, you can get your arrest record for free at the Records and Services Division of the Chicago Police Department located at 3510 S. Michigan Ave every Monday through Friday from 8:00 – 12:00.

Once you have your rap sheet, then you must fill out three forms: a petition to expunge juvenile arrest record, a notice, and an order of expungement. Once these forms are filed you will need to submit the forms to the Court Clerk’s Office. Then you will receive a court date and you will have to come back to attend court at the Cook County Juvenile Center.

The Juvenile Expungement Help Desk, located in the Cook County Juvenile Center, is the best place to go to get help in filling out these forms for free. They are also able to assist in filing fee waivers for their clients.

We understood when working on this issue that there were some issues with the current process:

  • Visiting the Chicago Police Department and then going to the Cook County Juvenile Center, located at 1100 S. Hamilton Ave, can be a cumbersome experience
  • We also heard that getting a rap sheet is the most important step before seeking help at the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk, but some individuals go to the help desk first

Fingerprint terminal at the Cook County Juvenile Center adds another option for obtaining rap sheet

CS500e tenprint livescan device Smart Chicago assisted in securing the Cogent FBI-Certified USB Fingerprint Scanner 3M CS500e for the Cook County Juvenile Center. The fingerprint terminal will help individuals on their first step of getting their rap sheets.

The biggest limitation the turnaround time to receive the rap sheets that last from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. The lawyers of the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk are working on a release form so that individuals can release their rap sheets to the lawyers at the Help Desk and not have to come back in to fill out the petition paperwork.

The new fingerprint terminal at the Cook County Juvenile Center will allow individuals to go through every step of the process of getting their records expunged, right there at the Cook County Juvenile Center.  Individuals will need to visit the information desk and then be directed by a staff member to the fingerprint terminal. A probation officer will be LEAD-Certified and available to operate the fingerprint terminal.

LAF and CGLA are working on a process in which individuals can release their rap sheet directly to the lawyers at the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk. They will be able to complete and submit the petition paperwork on their behalf.

ICLEAR System

After on-going discussions with the Chicago Police Department, trained staff at the Cook County Juvenile Center also have access to the ICLEAR system, which would assist with receiving a rap sheet immediately for some people.

Members of the Chicago Police Department developed a technology integration application called Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR). CLEAR provides an unprecedented amount of information about criminal offenders in Chicago and Cook County. CLEAR makes this data available throughout the State and our neighboring states.

Access to the ICLEAR system allows staff at the Cook County Juvenile Center to use a name-based search to find rap sheets and print them immediately. There are some limitations of this system, since it cannot find records of individuals arrested outside of Chicago, arrested by multiple agencies, or who have older arrests. These individuals will still be able to use the fingerprint terminal to gain access to their rap sheets.

There is still more to come as we figure out this work, but these steps are getting us closer to an efficient process to get more juvenile records expunged.

Crime, Data, Justice

Smart Chicago

I have worked worked with a lot of crime data from a lot of cities, going back almost 10 years. I’ve worked with hundreds of colleagues to get more crime data published, make apps based on crime data, and to improve standards around the publication of crime data.

Today’s story in The Guardian, (The disappeared: Chicago police detain Americans at abuse-laden ‘black site’) is a blockbuster piece of journalism that signals a very important day for those of us who care about this work. Here’s an extended snip:

The Chicago police department operates an off-the-books interrogation compound, rendering Americans unable to be found by family or attorneys while locked inside what lawyers say is the domestic equivalent of a CIA black site.

The facility, a nondescript warehouse on Chicago’s west side known as Homan Square, has long been the scene of secretive work by special police units. Interviews with local attorneys and one protester who spent the better part of a day shackled in Homan Square describe operations that deny access to basic constitutional rights.

Alleged police practices at Homan Square, according to those familiar with the facility who spoke out to the Guardian after its investigation into Chicago police abuse, include:

  • Keeping arrestees out of official booking databases
  • Beating by police, resulting in head wounds.
  • Shackling for prolonged periods.
  • Denying attorneys access to the “secure” facility.
  • Holding people without legal counsel for between 12 and 24 hours, including people as young as 15.

A day like this makes me proud of what we do and the way we do it.

At Smart Chicago, we’ve never made a crime report app. In our Justice program, we focus on access to data (not just display), youth-led tech (rather than data-driven apps), and websites that delve into published and unpublished datasets about incarceration (so that we can go beyond the data handed down and try to see what’s still left behind).

I’m particularly proud of two justice-centered technology projects we’ve published over the last year, with our partners the Chicago Justice Project and FreeGeek Chicago’s Supreme Chi-Town Coding Crew. I think these projects are exemplary apps in a post-Homan Square civic tech world.

They don’t display official crime data. Instead, Crime and Punishment in Chicago focuses (like the Guardian story) on what *isn’t* published.

Crime and Punishment in Chicago

Here’s our description:

All over Chicago, every day, in every corner of our oblong city, people commit crimes. This project is an index of the data that documents these crimes and what, if any, response there is from the criminal justice system.

The documentation is immense. Some is published. Much of it is not. Our goal is to create a flat, simple guide to what is known and what is not.

We haven’t waited for data to hit the data portal— we work with hard-nosed people like Tracy Siska who get a hold of never-before-published conviction data through FOIA. This data is displayed in Convicted in Cook.

Convicted in Cook

Here’s our description:

This project is an analysis of five years of Cook County conviction data. The information was received by Tracy Siska of the Chicago Justice Project from the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County through a request to the chief judge. We’ve posted a copy of that request here.

Each year, tens of thousands of people stand in front of judges at the Cook County Circuit Court, the largest unified court system in the country. Their offenses range from marijuana possession charges that result in low-level misdemeanor convictions to multiple murders that put people behind bars for life.

When a violent crime is picked up by the news media, it’s often sensationalised so that every minor detail is brought into the public purview. Meanwhile, the vast majority of convictions – mostly drug related – are given little notice.

This project will attempt to answer several questions regarding convictions in Cook County. Upon first receiving the data, it became apparent that the data was messy and incomplete.

Two projects that use technology and data to zero in on justice, not tech projects that zero in on crime data. As we’ve seen in today’s news, published an ocean away from the corner of Homan and Fillmore, the only way past messy and incomplete is more work. So: onward.

The Launch of Convicted in Cook

Smart Chicago

Today we’re launching Convicted in Cook, a joint project of Smart Chicago, the Chicago Justice Project, and FreeGeek Chicago’s Supreme Chi-Town Coding Crew (SC3).

Convicted in Cook is an analysis of five years worth of conviction data received through the Office of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County by Tracy Siska of the Chicago Justice Project. The goal is to shed a light on criminal convictions in Cook County.

The project is part of the Smart Chicago Collaborative’s Civic Works Project, a program funded by the Knight Foundation and the Chicago Community Trust to spur and support civic innovation in Chicago.

cookcounty

Continue reading →

Continuing the Work of Expunge.io

Smart Chicago

Smart Chicago was recently awarded a grant from The Chicago Community Trust to support Expunge.io. This grant, referred to as “Expunge.io Plus,” supports the great work already happening with Mikva Challenge Juvenile Justice Council, LAF, Illinois Legal Aid Online, Cabrini Green Legal Aid, and others, by increasing public awareness, supporting the work of institutions, and documenting the juvenile expungement application process.

Screenshot 2014-10-29 18.09.46

There are five main goals of this work:

  • Increase public awareness regarding juvenile expungements
  • Drive more young adults to the Cook County Juvenile Expungement Help Desk
  • Secure a fingerprint terminal to obtain a copy of arrest records at the Cook County Juvenile Expungement Help Desk
  • Provide project management services to ensure project completion
  • Research data management services to document baseline information in how young people’s records are used once they are disseminated. See a blog post on this topic: “Getting at the Root of Issues with Juvenile Records“)

Background

We know that juvenile expungement is an arduous legal process that prevents many young adults from applying to have their records expunged. The impact of having misdemeanors and/or other lesser forms of criminal activity easily accessible to college admission departments and employers may hinder high school graduates from obtaining advanced degrees or securing career opportunities.

While many records can be erased, people  who are eligible for expungement often do not initiate or complete the process because it is complicated, understaffed, and fragmented.

Expunge.io is an on-ramp for the expungement process that helps start the process of erasing juvenile arrests/court records by sending people to the  Juvenile Expungement Help Desk. The Juvenile Expungement Help Desk is a place where individuals can meet with an attorney who will review juvenile arrest record, assist with the necessary paperwork and provide additional legal assistance. Lawyers are all available to help eligible people file fee waivers to expunge their records free of charge.

On June 9, 2014, the Juvenile Court Automatic Expungement SB 0978 passed allowing automatic expungements for offenses occurring on or after January 1, 2015 and for those records kept with the Illinois Police Department. It does not remove records maintained at the local law enforcement agency, court clerk, or with the FBI agency nor is it retroactive. Here is a look at the Juvenile Court Automatic Expungement SB 0978:

Replaces everything after the enacting clause. Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that the Department of State Police shall automatically expunge, on an annual basis, law enforcement records pertaining to a minor who has been arrested if: (1) the minor had been arrested and no delinquency petition was filed with the clerk of the circuit court; (2) the minor has attained the age of 18 years; and (3) since the date of the minor’s most recent arrest, at least 6 months have elapsed without an additional arrest. Provides that a petition for expungement may include multiple offenses on the same petition, if the petitioner is 18 years of age or older and when a minor was arrested and no delinquency petition filed or if filed was found not delinquent of the offense or supervision successfully completed, or the offense would be a Class B misdemeanor or lesser offense if committed by an adult. Provides that the Department of State Police shall expunge all law enforcement records described in this provision on an annual basis. Provides that the Department of State Police shall establish a process for an individual to confirm that all law enforcement records described in this provision have been expunged on an annual basis.

Flooding the box

Through this grant, Smart Chicago wants to drive more people to the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk. We call this “flooding the box”.  Expunge.io is one step in doing that. Here is a look at the strategies and work outlined in the grant proposal:

Strategy I: Increase awareness about the relevance of juvenile expungements and the purpose and limitations of the SB 0978 – Juvenile Court Automatic Expungements through community involvement

Activity I: Develop public awareness through direct community outreach. Smart Chicago will fund events to

  1. Drive young adults to the Cook County Juvenile Court Help Desk to obtain their arrest record and receive free legal help
  2. Host community level expungement sessions whereby juveniles can also begin the expungement application process
  3. Develop a texting campaign with Illinois Legal Aid Online. In addition, Smart Chicago will coordinate efforts with several partners to develop a marketing campaign to educate people about the expungement process using Expunge.io as the jumping off point. These partners include Mikva Challenge, Civic User Testing Group (CUTGroup), Illinois legal Aid Online, among others
Strategy II: Structure an enhanced service-oriented and efficient application process

Activity I: Secure fingerprint terminal to be stationed at the Cook County Juvenile Court
Activity II: Develop communication strategy to target young adults to apply for juvenile expungements and informing them regarding their application status
Activity III: Expand the Expunge.io website to provide additional information, better filtering system between juveniles and adult expungements, and improve the technology connection between applicant and free legal services

Strategy III: Provide project and data management to understand the expungement process

Activity I: Document the application process for general public and website distribution
Activity II: Manage the initiative and its network of partners
Activity III: Identify and document how expungement records are disseminated and what happens to data after a record is expunged

CUTGroup #11 – Expunge.io

Sonja Marziano

Smart Chicago conducted our eleventh Civic User Testing Group (CUTGroup) test as part of our current work around this grant from the Knight Foundation given to Chris Rudd and Mikva Challenge to “update Expunge.io with new design and new features that will make the web-app more appealing and effective for its users.”

screenshot-expunge.io

Here are the questions we wanted to answer through this test:

  • Is Expunge.io easy to use? Do users like the website? Are there any problems/issues using the website?
  • What stands out on Expunge.io? What do users remember? Do users have a good understanding of the expungement process after visiting the website?
  • Do they want to share information with others?
  • How can Expunge.io be improved?

Segmenting

Instead of doing our normal callout to our CUTGroup participants, Mikva Challenge invited their youth to do a test on Thursday, August 28, 2014 from 4:30 – 5:30 PM. We had 7 testers show up to the Mikva Challenge Office at 332 S. Michigan Ave in the Loop. We figured that some of these youth might already know a lot about the Expunge.io website, but we still got great responses and suggestions for improvements.

We invited all of these youth to join the CUTGroup, it was optional for this test, but everyone signed up. Here is a look at what neighborhoods they live in:

View CUTGroup 11: Expunge.io in a full screen map

 Test Format

We did a focus group-style test with two 30-45 minute sessions.  One group had 5 testers, and the second group had 2 testers. Testers were asked to respond to the questions on their own, but proctors were at each session to ask questions and get more information and details.

Testers used this form to drive through the test and answer questions. We asked questions about internet and device use, knowledge of the juvenile expungement process, and website review.

We added a new task to the test to gauge whether something stood out to testers after viewing the homepage. After testers reviewed the homepage for the few moments to answer a previous questions, we asked them to turn off their laptop screens and draw what they remembered. Here is a look at their drawings:

Results

We learned that testers like Expunge.io because it is a simple, easy to understand website that clarifies the juvenile expungement process.  It’s not about the technology, but instead about sharing and getting information in order to get more juvenile records expunged.

Is Expunge.io easy to use? Do users like the website? Are there any problems/issues using the website?

The majority of testers thought that Expunge.io was really easy to use. The language on the website was described as “plain” or “simple” and testers thought the steps made it easy to follow.

6 out of 7 testers (86%) liked the website, and the 1 tester who did not like the website was “in between.”

The biggest issue that needs to be addressed is the fact that some users cannot get through the step-by-step expungement process on the website because of access being restricted by parental controls. This happens to be the case when the links have language that includes “adult:”

  • http://www.expunge.io/adultrecord
  • http://www.expunge.io/adultorjuv

Since this website is driven by youth, it is important that youth can access the website at schools and at home and these links should changed so they will not be flagged by parental controls.

What stands out on Expunge.io? What do users remember? Do users have a good understanding of the expungement process after visiting the website?

When testers were asked to draw the homepage, 6 out of 7 testers remembered the three boxes/steps. These testers, however, were not able to recall the steps specifically or what each step is.

The two pieces of information that really stood out for testers was the fact that there was a cost associated with the expungement process and that you needed to be over 18 before your record was expunged. During the session, some testers felt like this information needed to be better represented at the beginning of the process. Even though there is a fee waiver, testers were stuck on the fact that they would have to pay for the expungement process. Some testers felt that if they are sharing this with their peers and friends, they would not want this type of information to be “hidden.”

Do they want to share information with others?

6 out of 7 testers generally share information through social media on regular basis. When asked if they would be willing to share information about Expunge.io, all testers were willing to share information to help their friends and the people they know.

When asked to draw the homepage, only one tester noticed the social media icons on the bottom of the page.

MJ (#6) thought that if you do not have a record, “There should a page where it says something like ‘Congratulations! You don’t have a record! Here’s what you can do to help others…”

By providing users a clear call to action would allow more users to help others by sharing information.

How can Expunge.io be improved?

Access Restrictions

We learned that through this test that links that have the word “adult” triggers the parental controls and restricts access to the website. Since this is a youth driven website, all links need to be changed to have youth-friendly language so youth can visit Expunge.io at any location.

More information about process

Testers wanted more information about the expungement process cost, fee waivers, and the age restrictions to be more noticeable at the beginning of the process. Most testers felt that if they are sharing this type of information with their friends, it should not be “hidden” in the website but be clear and upfront.

Polar Bear (#3) said that the website needs to “be more specific especially if one that isn’t 18 and can’t do this will want to know from the start.”

More information found in the FAQs should be added to the homepage.

Call to Action

Testers were very interested in sharing this information to their friends and peers because they thought it was important to “help.” Social media should be used more often as a call to action. On this page, as an example, even if the youth is not eligible to apply for juvenile expungement, there should be a call out to share with their networks to spread information about the juvenile expungement process.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 12.39.29 PM

 

Smart Chicago will be working with the  Mikva Challenge Juvenile Justice Council to share these results and prepare for two additional tests with youth for Expunge.io. We hope to help create a plan to make this website work for more people.

Final Report

Here is a final report of the results with notes from each CUTGroup test session, followed by each tester’s responses, and copies of other questions we asked:

The raw test data can be found below with the written answers from every tester.