Now you can check online data to see how Prosecuting Attorney’s Office deals with felonies
Thurston County’s Prosecuting Attorney’s Office wants to reduce the time it takes to resolve adult felony cases by at least 10% by the end of next year.
That policy goal is the first to be tracked by a recently launched data dashboard called Commons. The PAO developed this public dashboard with the non-profit Measures for Justice to foster transparency and community trust.
“Our office is committed to processing criminal cases as efficiently as possible,” Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim is quoted as saying on the dashboard. “Long case timelines can delay justice, increase costs and place additional stress on victims.”
Specifically, the PAO wants to reduce the time between arraignment and case closure from the current median time of 152 days to 137 days by December 2026. Arraignment is the first time someone appears in court after they’ve been formally charged. Cases may end a variety of ways, such as with a plea deal, trial verdict or dismissal of charges.
To meet the goal, Tunheim said his office will start by identifying people early in the process who are appropriate for diversion programs. Such programs typically allow people accused of crimes to avoid conviction by successfully completing a rehabilitation plan.
Tunheim said these efforts improve public safety, hold people accountable and allow his office to focus their resources where they’re needed most.
At a June 24 launch event for the dashboard, Tunheim described the policy goal as an experiment.
“The criminal justice system is really an ecosystem and it involves a lot of different organizations and players,” Tunheim said.
He acknowledged that his office doesn’t have control over all the people who may influence the lifespan of a case, and some cases are simply more complicated than others. Still, he said he wants his office to do what it can.
“Why do we want to do that?” Tunheim said. “Well, because the reality is, the system only has a finite amount of time. Time is the resource of the criminal justice system.”
PAO spokesperson Tara Tsehlana said their office has never tracked this measure before so they settled on a 10% reduction, or 15 days, as a reasonable, attainable goal.
She said the PAO developed the policy goal with a Community Advisory Board that helped with the creation of the Commons data dashboard.
They specifically chose to focus on arraignment to case closure — rather than offense to case closure, for example — because that’s the part of the process where prosecutors can have the most impact.
“We are not fully in control of the timeline, as noted, but we do have some influence,” Tsehlana said. “Though not intentional, one very positive aspect of the goal is that everyone has something to gain by us reducing the time to process and resolve a case.”
This goal also complements efforts by Thurston County Superior Court to ensure timely access to justice. Tsehlana said this alignment provides an opportunity for “collective impact.”
One additional strategy the PAO is looking at is revamping its First Look program, which was dismantled during the pandemic. Under this program, dedicated attorneys review cases when they’re received to quickly identify people who could benefit from being diverted out of the justice system and into rehabilitation.
When asked if this may cost the county extra money, Tsehlana said it’s possible additional positions and other resources may be needed, but the PAO will better understand those needs as it explores various implentation strategies.
“We plan to track progress for around six months to better understand the impact First Look has on the timeliness of case resolution and will determine whether additional strategies are required to have a better chance of achieving our first policy goal,” Tsehlana said.
What does the Commons data dashboard offer?
The Commons data dashboard goes beyond merely tracking a single policy goal.
The dashboard allows anyone to track the number of adult felony cases received by prosecutor, decisions after case review, types of diversion, how cases end, sentencing outcomes and case timelines.
These categories can be filtered or grouped by race/ethnicity, sex, age, county residence, offense type, domestic violence or firearm involvement, arresting agency and failure to appear (FTA).
The dashboard only tracks adult felony cases because the PAO reviews all felony cases for the entire county but not all misdemeanor cases.
Some cities, such as Olympia, have their own municipal courts that handle those lower-level cases. As a result, the PAO says their in-house misdemeanor case data does not provide a full picture of such cases in the county.
The dashboard includes data from October 2021 onwards and the PAO aims to keep it updated with data that is no more than six months old. There’s also a glossary of terms to help people understand the vocabulary used in the criminal legal system.
Additionally, the dashboard allows anyone to share data directly with local elected officials, law enforcement agencies and media outlets, including The Olympian.
People can even copy and share links that maintain selected filters and groupings, allowing anyone to see exactly what another person was looking at.
How did the Commons data dashboard come to be?
The PAO first announced its partnership with Measures for Justice in September 2023.
The project was funded by a $283,870 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Prosecution: Innovative Prosecution Solutions Program, according to Tsehlana.
That award covers the development of the dashboard, two years of hosting and maintenance ending June 2027, and internal professional development to sustain and expand this work.
Tunheim said his office sought the grant to improve how it shares data with the public and to support community engagement. He said this project offers a high-level view of the cases going through his office.
“I suspect it’s actually going to generate, and actually should generate, more questions than answers,” Tunheim said. “It’s really a starting point.”
To create the dashboard, the PAO considered input from a community advisory board it created.
At the June 24 event, Tunheim said he and Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Graham wanted to include people with different professional and personal viewpoints from the community.
“We tried identifying viewpoints, but not people, if that makes sense,” Graham said. Graham said they asked people in different communities and fields to recommend people who would be a natural fit.
The board met quarterly for half-day sessions behind closed doors since September 2023, Tsehlana said.
When asked why these meetings were not open to the public, Tsehlana said the PAO wanted to create a space to hear perspectives before sharing with broader community.
“To get real and honest feedback from CAB members, we believe it was important to create a safe space where people could openly share their experiences, thoughts and feedback,” Tsehlana said.
“We specifically set meeting guidelines to encourage vulnerability and ensure respect and privacy of the lived experiences shared in these meetings.”
Tsehlana said the PAO has invited current board members to resume meeting quarterly later this fall. She said the project is now transitioning from a development phase to an engagement phase through December 2026.
“At that time, we will begin accepting applications for additional community members to join the CAB,” Tsehlana said.
Amy Bach, CEO and founder of Measures for Justice, commented on the project with Thurston County in a Friday news release.
“Data transparency is the best tool we have for getting to a more accountable criminal justice system,” Bach said. “This is why we are so proud to be working with Thurston and other counties nationwide to help them share their data with Commons.”
More information about the Commons data dashboard can be found on the Thurston County PAO website. The public can also send questions or feedback to prosecutordashboard@co.thurston.wa.us.
This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
