Quantifying Justice: Metrics and Ethics in Canadian Criminal Justice

My research examines the production and effects of statistics and performance metrics. Quantitative indicators are typically regarded as a way to solve the imperative of governing from a distance and ensuring accountability and transparency, but may also replace democratic deliberation on matters of collective concern. I ask, what are the consequences for the public good, individual agency, shaping of criminal justice and the organization of society? This topic is important to understand how we live as citizens of a democracy under rule of law. It has implications for policy, professional practice, organizational ethics, and for governing the Canadian justice system.