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5 J.L. & Innovation 38 (2023)
Understanding Criminal Justice Innovations

handle is hein.journals/jlinno5 and id is 41 raw text is: JOURNAL OF LAW & INNOVATION C 2023 Journal of Law & Innovation VOL. 5 JANUARY 2023 No. 1 ARTICLE Understanding Criminal Justice Innovations MEGHAN J. RYANt Burgeoning science and technology have provided the criminal justice system with the opportunity to address some of its shortcomings. And the criminal justice system has significant shortcomings. Among other issues, we have a mass incarceration problem; clearance rates are surprisingly low; there are serious concerns about wrongful convictions; and the system is layered with racial, religious, and other biases. Innovations that are widely used across industries, as well as those directed specifically at the criminal justice system, have the potential to improve upon such problems. But it is important to recognize that these innovations also have downsides, and criminal justice actors must proceed with caution and understand not only the potential of these interventions but also their limitations. Relevant to this calculation of caution is whether the innovation is broadly used across industry sectors or, rather, whether it has been specifically developedfor use within the criminal justice system. These latter innovations have a record of not being sufficiently vetted for accuracy and reliability. Accordingly, t Associate Dean for Research, Robert G. Storey Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Gerald J. Ford Research Fellow, Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law. I thank David Abrams and Gerald Adams for the kind invitation to be part of this great symposium. I also thank Aurelie Ouss, Hillel Bavli, Jenia Turner, and the symposium participants for their generous comments on this piece and thoughtful discussions about criminal justice innovations more broadly.