U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero:

Referring to the work of the Lehigh Valley Justice Institute, Romero said, “As soon as you mention data and law enforcement, eyes glaze over. But it really is a big part of my vision for law enforcement in our district [to use] data-driven prosecutions to figure out who are the worst of the worst, who are the people who are really driving the violence in our communities, who are the people who are bringing illegal guns and drugs into our community, and using the data to assist us in that.

“Well, that’s the job of the prosecutor, right? But we rarely talk about using data on the back end when people are re-entering our society from prison and how we can support them in getting their act together, so to speak. [They are] choosing a different way of life and getting away from criminal thinking and really piercing their lives back together and joining the rest of us. [They are]having a job and doing all the things that we do.

“For 17 years reentry has been an integral part of the U.S. Attorney office’s mission and it’s at the forefront of my vision for community engagement in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania: supporting people through their re-entry process is part of our comprehensive strategy to help prevent recidivism, help combat crime and address larger societal issues that contribute to crime.

“Inspired by the stories of returning citizens, we have started hosting these re-entry simulations to teach the public about the barriers that so many of our community members face as they return home from prison.

“The simulation has been used as a teaching tool throughout the nation and versions of this exercise have been facilitated by many U.S. Attorney offices across the country.”