For decades we've judged this one by a single crude number — cases filed — the way you'd judge a person's health by their weight alone. The Whatcom Justice Project reads the system's actual vitals: who enters it, whether cases truly resolve, the warrants issued but never cleared, and whether people stop cycling back. Continuously, from primary sources, in aggregate — no individuals named.
We take the temperature; we don't assign blame. The information is there. You decide.
Explore the record How we source itEverything connected to public safety in Whatcom County, in one place — updated from the source.
Population, booking restrictions, who books people in, and the repeat-cycle math.
● Dashboard liveBellingham Municipal & county courts: caseloads, dispositions, the warrant backlog, access hours.
● Page liveContracts, per-case pay, caseloads, and outcomes by representation.
● Page liveBooking policy, staffing, and enforcement decisions set by capacity.
● Page liveAdopted budgets, the $205M jail, the $20M crisis center, levies.
● Data live · Real Record ↗Where these policies are set — agendas, votes, and what was decided.
● Feed live · Real Record ↗Do the alternatives to jail work? The evidence, strengths and limits alike.
● Evidence reviewThe record above stays neutral. These two layers are our read of it, kept separate on purpose.
The system is funded and judged by inputs — cases filed, dispositions cleared, fees paid. We measure whether anyone actually stopped cycling through: recidivism, failures-to-appear, and the compliance treadmill.
Read the analysis →Victims of crime deserve a voice that is neither weaponized nor dismissed. The harm is real. This is where the people on both sides of the cycle are heard.
Victim impact →As a victim, a family member, or someone caught in the cycle — we never publish without permission.
Share your experience