Whatcom County has launched a new public data tracking website tied to the voter-approved Justice Project, giving residents their first centralized view of how the county's sweeping criminal justice and behavioral health reform initiative is performing. The site went live Tuesday, April 14, according to an announcement from the Justice Project Oversight and Planning (JPOP) Committee.
The Justice Project is Whatcom County's most ambitious public safety and health reform effort in decades. Approved by county voters, the initiative encompasses 15 distinct projects, including a new county jail and behavioral health facility, expanded substance use disorder treatment, and supportive housing programs. The new data site is intended to give the public ongoing visibility into whether those investments are delivering results.
Tawsha Thompson, Co-Chair of the JPOP Committee, explained the rationale behind making data public from the outset. "Data allows us to better understand current outcomes, identify disparities, measure progress, and guide meaningful, evidence-based improvements tailored to our community," she said in the county's announcement. Thompson emphasized that without reliable, accessible data, it becomes difficult to course-correct or demonstrate accountability to the taxpayers funding the effort.
The tracking site pulls information from several county systems and partner agencies. Data sources include the Anne Deacon Center for Hope Crisis Triage Center, the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office, and various diversion programs operating across the county. Reports and datasets are compiled from agencies with direct connections to Whatcom County's criminal justice and behavioral health infrastructure.
County officials were careful to note that the current site represents a first phase, not a final product. The data presented reflects what is currently available and accessible, while the county continues work on a more comprehensive, integrated data dashboard that would pull from additional sources in real time. That fuller system is expected to take additional time to develop and deploy.
For Whatcom County residents who have followed the Justice Project since its voter approval, the launch represents a concrete step toward the transparency advocates have called for throughout the planning process. Community groups and oversight committees have consistently pushed for public-facing metrics that go beyond annual reports, wanting to see regular updates on jail population trends, diversion program participation rates, and behavioral health service utilization.
The JPOP Committee meets regularly to review project milestones and will use the new tracking site as a reference tool during those sessions. Members of the public can attend JPOP meetings or review meeting minutes through the county's website. The oversight structure was specifically designed to include community representation alongside county officials, reflecting a commitment to shared accountability for the Justice Project's outcomes.
Whatcom County joins a growing number of local jurisdictions across Washington State that have moved toward public data dashboards for major reform initiatives. Transparency tools like this one have become standard practice in jurisdictions that have undertaken large-scale behavioral health or criminal justice investments, particularly after concerns about accountability arose in other counties that lacked such mechanisms.
Residents can view the new Justice Project data at whatcomcounty.us/4769. Questions about the data or the JPOP Committee can be directed to Whatcom County Government through the county's main contact page.
